


here in search of your glory

by towokuwusatsuwu



Category: HiGH&LOW: the Story of S.W.O.R.D. (TV)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Biting, Established Relationship, F/M, Frottage, M/M, Marking, Mild Sexual Content, Multi, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-04
Updated: 2018-09-05
Packaged: 2019-06-05 06:49:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 22,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15164987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/towokuwusatsuwu/pseuds/towokuwusatsuwu
Summary: jesse lost his rights as alpha of the mighty warriors when he was imprisoned; sarah picked up the mantle in his place, took care of his pack, and made sure they would thrive and flourish in his absence. when he returns with another pack following in his footsteps, it might not be so easy to find his place between them and to charm the new alpha into letting him stay.sarah can lead the mighty warriors without another alpha at her side. but need and want are two different things.





	1. Chapter 1

The Mighty Warriors are hardly the first pack with more than one alpha. When he had been busy fighting the Sannoh Rengokai alpha in the warehouse alongside Doubt, Jesse picked up on the presence of many alphas in the room. Most of the men who wore Daruma Ikka jackets, for example, and his own Prison Gang, and he knows Doubt has a large percentage of them as well. Most packs are fairly diverse in terms of how many alphas, betas, or omegas they have, and the more alphas the merrier as long as everyone gets along and no one goes for anyone else’s throat for no reason.

There are benefits, especially in a pack with multiple omegas because it kept one alpha from being exhausted should heat cycles ever decide to sync up. Mighty Warriors have four though Jesse knows better than anyone that no one could sniff around Diddy without Dixie’s hackles raising in reaction. That leaves three, and before he and Pho walk into the Funk Jungle to ask Ice if he’s interested in making quick cash, Mighty Warriors only have one alpha. She sits proud and relaxed, expression unimpressed, wrapped in soft, soft fur.

In the first week after Jesse’s return, he finds himself sitting across from Ice at the kitchen table, leg jiggling nervously under the table. “So, your alpha say anything about me yet?”

“Excuse me?” Ice looks up from his phone, a bite of scrambled eggs halfway to his mouth. The others have already eaten but Ice is a late riser; there was food saved and covered in the microwave for him to keep warm, left there by Sarah. “I didn’t hear you, man.”

“Your alpha. Sarah.” Jesse’s leg bounces a little harder. “She say anything about me?”

Ice sets his fork down, regarding Jesse quietly. “Why are you asking about Sarah?”

“She didn’t say anything to me when I came to talk to you guys. She’s not said anything to me at all yet.” Jesse catches his lip between his teeth, forcing himself to let it go before he bites down hard enough to draw blood. “Worried she might not want me around much, y’know?”

“Oh.” Ice nods once. “Yeah. No, she hasn’t said anything to me about you yet.”

Though this is the reply Jesse expects, he deflates at Ice’s words and rests his chin on the top of the table hoping he doesn’t look too much like a kicked puppy. Mighty Warriors was originally his pack, and he had been the sole alpha once, but his time spent in prison left his spot wide open to be swept up by someone else. Ice has only the best taste, so Sarah is every bit the classy and capable alpha Jesse would expect Ice to choose. But her marks are on their necks and that means Jesse has to wait to see if she wants him to stay around.

His marks are still there, at least. Part of him was worried he might walk into Ice’s nightclub only to discover every trace of him had been removed from their lives and he was no longer welcome in their personal space. Walking into their territory was risky; bringing Pho was insurance against any fight Jesse might walk into because while he can defend himself just fine, he had no way of knowing who Ice’s new alpha was or what they might be capable of. They would hardly be some rando off the street who would crumple under Jesse’s shoe.

So Sarah had come in, marked his pack, taken over as alpha, but hadn’t pushed him out or forced him out in the process. She left the open avenue for him to walk back into his home if he wanted to, at least it seems that way. But the silence between them leaves Jesse skittery and nervous enough that during the full moon, he’d run himself ragged to work the anxiety out.

“Don’t look so worried about it. She wanted you gone, you’d be gone by now. Oughta know that.” Ice goes back to his eggs and his phone, though he bumps his ankle against Jesse’s under the table, a silent reassurance.

“Dunno,” Jesse says. “Pho, Akune and I had our shit sorted out pretty fast. Didn’t wait a week.”

Ice sighs at him. “You were in prison, Jesse. Could you really afford to wait on that?”

“Guess you got a point. Kinda changes the timeframe of when things need to be done when you’re banding together to fight.” Jesse huffs a laugh, but it’s barely audible.

“She’s a good alpha. She wouldn’t toss you out on the street just ‘cause she doesn’t know you yet. Don’t see Bernie out there, do you?” The corner of Ice’s lips lift at the words and Jesse huffs another laugh, a little louder this time. “Exactly. Maybe she’s just figuring this out, too.”

Had he been given time to think about anything, Jesse might have needed time to decide where he stood on having Akune, then Pho, in his pack, too. “Makes sense. Handsome alpha comes out of nowhere, must have really thrown her off. You think she’s gonna like me, though?”

“You’re unbearable. She’s gonna love you,” Ice says.

“I hope so. I wanna stay with you guys so bad. You don’t know how much I missed you.” He might not know, given Jesse walked in with a new alpha, a new pack, a new set of scents clinging to the soft fur of his favorite leopard jacket. Just one omega scent, but one can be enough sometimes. “Must’ve missed me too based on that song.”

Ice winks at him. “‘Course I did, you fucking idiot. What else would I write that shit for?”

“You’ll have to sing it for me all on your own one night.” The minute Ice’s plate is cleaned of food, Jesse takes it and the fork to the sink, rinsing them off before adding them to the dishwasher. Old habits die hard.

Before he turns back around, Ice wraps around him, arms around his shoulders, nose nuzzling against the side of his neck. “Lemme scent you real quick before I head out.”

“Gotta leave already?” Sue him if he can’t quite keep the longing out of his voice.

Ice picks up on it right away; soothing omega scent washes over Jesse and he sighs, his head falling back against Ice’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, babe. I got business to handle. We’re going to have to make time for just you and me to hang out together.”

“Still wanna officially introduce you to my boys.” Jesse turns so he can look at Ice properly, wanting to take him in since they have to separate. He looks so good with cropped hair, soft gold against his bronze skin. Those big brown eyes, soft lips so quick to smirk; Jesse’s been gone for him for years and it still throws him off just how beautiful Ice is up close. “But I guess I gotta win your alpha over before I run you off to my pack.”

“Probably just ‘cause we ain’t all met yet. Bring ‘em to the Funk Jungle this weekend so we can do the meet cute.” Ice scrunches up his nose around the words and Jesse laughs.

He remembers Ice’s request from just a moment ago, tips his head back (he doesn’t put his hands on the sink counter behind him and push up to make himself a little taller, he absolutely would never do that) to bare his throat. The sign of vulnerability is quickly accepted; Ice pushes his nose into Jesse’s throat, right up against his scent gland, the sensation making Jesse just a touch lightheaded on his feet. When Ice lets his head fall to the side in offering, Jesse is quick to accept; Ice smells so good, not stereotypically sweet but spicy. It almost makes his nose burn.

“Thanks, Jess.” Ice steals a kiss and he tastes like breakfast. “Have a good day, maybe go see your boys while I’m out. Ryu’s gonna swing by this evening.”

The words lift Jesse’s spirits immediately; he and Ice had enough  _ soulmates _ jokes thrown at them when they were younger but Ice knows how to make him smile and always has. “Thanks for letting me know. And tell me if Sarah says anything, got it?”

“You’ll be the first to know.” Ice kisses him again, longer and slower, their lips lingering together before he steps back with a heavy sigh. “Right. See you tonight, okay?”

“You think I’d miss seeing my favorite omegas side by side again?” Jesse asks.

Ice grins at him, white teeth, soft lips, cheeks picking up the slightest pink tint before he picks his sunglasses up off the table, pockets his phone, and lets himself out. Jesse watches after him, ignoring the whine that builds up in his throat, a pitiful and pathetic sound that proves just how much he missed Ice maybe more than anything else. Even with the scenting and the promise of seeing Ryu this evening doesn’t quite pull him out of the funk he finds himself in; the time spent in prison should have desensitized him, but it might have made brief absences hurt more.

_ Pull your shit together and go check on your pack, _ he tells himself, running a hand through his hair, ruffling it up.  _ Ice and Ryu aren’t your only omegas. Get your ass in gear. _

Jesse loves his boys maybe more than he should given the cobbled together feel of their pack, the way they all just kind of fell together in maybe one of the worst places to meet new people. Multiple alphas in a pack as a concept is not a negative one, but most people probably think that three alphas who meet in prison might not be the best leadership or backbone for a new pack. Jesse thinks just the opposite; if he goes down in a fight, Pho and Akune will be there to leap over his body and tear out the throats of anyone who dares to hurt him.

Still, he hesitates on his way out the door. Pearl, Bernie and 9 rolled out before Jesse woke up, their rooms empty but their scents strong enough to tell him they were here and he just missed them by waking up too late. Diddy and Dixie are sharing a shower; if he stretches his hearing he can make out the shape of their conversation if not the words, but he doesn’t do that because it isn’t his business to find out  _ what _ kind of conversation they might be having.

Some conversations don’t use words, anyway.

Sarah is in her own bedroom, the one she only shares with her pack and no one else, sleeping off the long run she took her pack on last night. Jesse wasn’t invited to that one; he’d been with his own boys until Ice texted him it was okay to come by, and he was happy enough to bask in the closeness and the warmth of the Mighty pack. By that time, Sarah already retired up to her room, so Jesse never had the chance to see her color high and her eyes glittering. A pity, because he wants to get to know her.  _ All _ of her, everything she would let him see.

He gives up looking for his jacket when he can’t find it after fifteen minutes and heads home.

While most of Mighty was occupied or gone when Jesse woke up, his pack is still gathered around the breakfast table when he lets himself in the door. They have fewer chairs than people so they have to do what they can; Brown is half sitting on Akune and half on Miou while Mocai perches on Nakamon’s lap. They all look up when the door opens, craning their necks around to see who’s come to see them. As soon as they realize who it is, Pho stands up.

“Morning, Jesse,” he says, his voice still rough and husky from sleep. “Have a good night?”

Jesse waves him to sit back down, kicking off his shoes by the door and grabbing his slippers instead; it’s the little comforts of home that do it for him. “Comparatively. How about you guys?”

“Mocai took out three alphas on his own last night because they came sniffing around Brown.” Pho’s voice betrays how proud he sounds, even still tired. “Got up early to celebrate that.”

“That’s my boy.” Jesse winces; he should have been there. But none of them look upset with him, and even without him around, Pho and Akune are here. Not that they were needed; one of his betas had taken care of the alphas bothering Brown. Jesse’s chest swells with pride.

In answer, Mocai shrugs and picks a piece of bacon off of his plate. “S’what I had to do.”

Jesse rounds the table to kiss the side of his head, not missing the pleased noise Mocai makes up at him for the reward. “You did a great job protecting Brown and I’m proud of you.”

“I can take care of myself.” The words are muffled around bacon and eggs, maybe even toast; only Brown can look properly pouty and offended around a mouthful of hot food. “But it was so badass. He had them on the ground in less than a minute.”

“No one doubts you can take care of yourself, pretty boy.” Akune kisses Brown on the neck, right over his scent gland; it makes him full-body shudder.

Miou does the same on the other side and Brown whines, making big puppy eyes across the table at Jesse. “Exactly. We all know you got your own safety down but that doesn’t mean we don’t wanna take some of the stress off of you from time to time.”

“Don’t get him all flustered at breakfast,” Jesse says; both men nod, dropping their eyes. “No big deal, but let him eat. You can cuddle up to him all you want after.”

“ _ Thank you, alpha. _ ” Brown singsongs the words to him in English.

Jesse singsongs him in English right back. “ _ You’re welcome, omega. _ ”

A pack with three alphas is nothing; a pack with one omega raises eyebrows wherever they go not that Jesse pays it much mind. He knows the closer to an even balance, the better put-together the pack is considered, but the lot of them have been spoiling Brown for so long at this point Jesse isn’t sure they would know how to function around a second omega. They’d do well with Ice and Bernie, though, he’s sure of that, but it’s different. They aren’t one big pack yet, and Brown is on a pedestal above all others for most of them.

Pho’s fingers curve around his bicep, giving it a quick, gentle squeeze. “Sit down and eat. I know you haven’t yet.”

“You’re right.” Jesse lets himself be pulled around the corner of the table and climbs up into Pho’s lap, not keen on bothering someone else for their chair when Pho is more than big enough to support Jesse’s weight. They’ve been doing it just like this for as long as they’ve had this place. “‘Sides, I should celebrate Mocai kicking ass with the rest of you.”

“You’re lookin’ a little down this morning, Jesse.” Nakamon shifts Mocai around on his lap so he can stretch out a hand, touch Jesse’s shoulder. “Wanna tell us what’s up?”

Touch would be a big deal in any pack, but their pack relies on it more than most, a habit picked up in prison where reaching through prison bars to touch each other kept them all going.

“I’m good, honestly, just waiting for Sarah to get back to me, see what she thinks about me hanging around her boys so much.” Jesse leaves out how those are his boys, too, that he spent more time with them, that he marked them first. His pack already knows that.

Brown hums, pushing his eggs around on his plate. “We ever gonna be able to meet them? I know you say we gotta wait until Sarah’s cool with you being around, but…”

“It’s hard when you gotta spend a night with them ‘cause we were already missing you when you went to Sun Kings.” Miou rubs a hand up Brown’s side and Jesse knows who the real problem lay with. He feels worse about that; not taking care of an omega is serious.

“I’ll push to talk to her sometime soon so I don’t have to keep ditching out on you guys. If I’d known it was an issue I wouldn’t have been doing it at all.” It’s not a good enough excuse and Jesse knows it because it’s his job to make sure Brown is okay, to check on him directly even if he thinks nothing is wrong. “I apologize for not noticing. It was wrong of me.”

Of course, Brown outs himself. He laughs and shakes his head, bats his lashes in Jesse’s direction. “Don’t be so down, you take good care of us. Get on it, though, I wanna meet these cute omegas of yours formally. Seeing them kinda in battle doesn’t count.”

“They cuter than our boy?” Nakamon asks, and Brown pouts at him.

“Complimentary,” Jesse says instead, not wanting to start an argument, not wanting to upset one of his boys, not wanting them to already dislike each other going into meeting face to face. “You’ll love them. You’ll all love each other, I’m sure of that. Pho, what do you think?”

Pho hums, resting his chin on top of Jesse’s head. “Bernie’s gonna love Brown the most.”

“Shit, that’s true.” And if Bernie likes Brown, Pearl will follow, and that’s going to be an actual disaster, so why is Jesse so excited to see that happen? “I’ll get on patching anything up so you can meet ‘em for real. Promise, as your alpha.”

Jesse has to make good on his word now. One way or another, he’ll find a way to talk to Sarah. He just hopes she doesn’t toss him out of Mighty Warriors as a result.


	2. Chapter 2

The leopard fur piled on top of the stack of coats in the backseat of Sarah’s car reeks of unfamiliar scents, and had Sarah been a different alpha she might be barely stifling a growl deep in her throat while she drives herself to the dry cleaners. While most of their laundry is easily handled by the machines they have in the back of the club in their private rooms, the fur coats many of them favor need special care and attention and she can only imagine how much of a disaster her favorite jacket might become if Bernie is the one who ends up washing it. Better to pay the extra money to have someone clean it professional than risk losing it forever.

Jesse’s coat smells of his pack, of Prison Gang and its members; three alphas counting Jesse himself, three betas, and their precious omega. A lot can be detected in their scents and Sarah spends her short drive trying to pick each one apart, focusing heavily on Brown’s until she’s content that every possible level in his scent profile is adequate. Omegas have a tendency to smell sweeter than most others but upset or omegas not cared for well by their pack smell sour or occasionally rotten, a sudden shift to draw the attention of other alphas.

The shift is always a cry for help, and Sarah knows it like the back of her hand; Ryu always smells slightly off when they come home from Kuryu, a sure sign that the stress of being a yakuza lord is slowly but surely getting to them. It makes her teeth grit, makes her eyes flash gold and her muscles coil, tension coursing through her body with the urge to shift and fight. There would be no winning, though, so she controls herself the best she can.

Everyone she can smell on Jesse’s jacket smells happy and cared for, so when Sarah drops the furs off at the dry cleaners, she feels comfortable on her way back home. That she has Jesse’s scent trapped in her nose and coating the inside of her throat means nothing.

She knows her pack is waiting for her official decision on Jesse’s presence in her pack. Pho was easily accepted because he was harmless, a secondary in his own pack, more a protector than a leader and so Sarah has no reason to believe he would ever try to buck her leadership. Jesse is different, a wild card, and he used to be the alpha of her pack before prison separated all of them and threatened to leave Mighty Warriors without a leader until she came along and picked up the position and all the pack members who came with it.

Time will tell whether or not she allows Jesse to remain with them. If she does, she would have to put a mark on his throat and they would need to discuss seriously bringing their packs together into a singular pack, something Sarah isn’t ready to think about at the moment.

Maybe she should be more worried as S.W.O.R.D. draws together, but not right now.

By the time she returns home, the majority of her pack has returned from their various outings; Ryu will be back this evening and Jesse will probably be here to see them, but for now her main core group is here and it makes her feel instantly settled and a little proud. While Funk Jungle might be Ice’s dream given shape and form, Sarah views their private rooms as their den and she’s glad she can keep all of them here, take care of them enough that they want to stay.

Bernie bounds out of his chair the moment he sees her in the doorway; Sarah only has seconds to shut the door and twist the lock before he collides into her, arms thrown around her shoulders. “Hi Sarah! We were wondering when you were going to be back.”

“I threw all the coats in my car last night before I went to bed so I wouldn’t forget to take them to the dry cleaners today.” Sarah settles an arm around Bernie’s shoulders, inhaling his scent, sugary sweet. “So I thought I should do that so we’d have them back for when it gets chilly.”

Ice turns around to look at her. “You take Jesse’s? He texted me earlier about it being missing.”

“Of course I did.” Sarah lets Bernie cuddle up against her before she leads him back into the living room, setting him back down on the loveseat next to Pearl. “How’s your day been?”

Pearl smiles lazily up at her, letting his head loll to the side just a little, the mark on his throat in clear display. “Fine, alpha. We had some work to do today and got it all done.”

“Figured we weren’t gonna open up the club tonight since Ryu’s not been doing too well the last few times they’ve come to visit,” Ice tells her, and Sarah nods in understanding. The stress of Kuryu’s failures has been eating on Ryu, forcing him to work harder and more often to pull off absolutely anything useful.

“I would have told you not to anyway. A good choice.” Sarah runs her fingers through Bernie’s hair, then down the side of Pearl’s face before she comes to sit next to Ice.

When the Mighty Warriors initially approached her, she wrote them all off even as she found herself drawn to them and she thinks that might have had something to do with Ice in particular, with how incorrigible he is, how completely obnoxious in all ways though sincerity rings through in every single one of his overly dramatic mottos. Sarah gives him a kiss hello, curling a hand around the back of his neck, wrist pressed against the mark on his throat.

He was the first one she marked. None of the others were ready to accept her as alpha but Ice was more than prepared to accept her as his mate.

“Jesse’s gonna swing by to see Ryu,” Ice tells her, scooting over on the couch to make plenty of room for her. As soon as she settles in, he lays himself across her lap.

“I thought he might. He’s allowed to do that as a member of the pack.” Sarah runs her fingers through Ice’s short hair, still not quite used to the style, finding herself missing his curls more often than not though he looks good no matter what. “I’m sure he misses Ryu like we do.”

9 picks his head up from where he’s slouched over in a chair. “He’s not gonna say it outright but he wants to know when he can bring his pack around to introduce officially.”

“9,” Pearl hisses, aiming a kick at his foot and just barely missing. “Don’t bring that shit up.”

Bernie sighs at them both. “Well,  _ someone _ should bring it up and if Jesse is never going to, then we aren’t going to get anywhere and everyone will be stressed out.”

“They’ve been arguing about this waiting for you to come back,” Ice murmurs up at her.

Sarah’s lips twitch up in a smile at the thought; she’s glad her pack wants to resolve issues instead of allowing them to fester. “I’m not surprised. Jesse is not subtle in the least.”

“You don’t have to do anything about it right away.” Dixie’s voice rings out over the others; the arguing trio rightfully shut up, only recognizing Dixie as an authority under Sarah. “9 just wanted you to know this was going on because Jesse’s been a little stressed about things lately and you know stressed alphas don’t exactly smell the best.”

That much is true; stressed alphas smell just about as bad as stressed omegas in a different way and the scent can be overbearing enough to upset the rest of the pack in turn. If Jesse has been worried about things, it would have been noticeable by the others and it might have made his time here with them a negative instead of a positive, something for Sarah to keep in mind. She knows she was letting this go perhaps a bit too long but if it’s starting to affect Jesse like this, it might be better to talk to him as soon as Ryu’s visit is over.

Or before, perhaps during? Ryu needs their alphas to be secure, to be shoulders for them to lean on so they can relax away from their larger pack. Now that they have so many duties on their shoulders and so much tension in Kuryu as they continuously run into issues with S.W.O.R.D., they need Sarah and Jesse to be here for them.

Sarah will figure this out so that Ryu doesn’t catch too much of Jesse’s issues. If she wasn’t able to handle a few lingering issues in their slowly developing relationship, she would have no place as the alpha of this pack.

“Stressed alphas  _ stink, _ ” Diddy says, waving a hand in front of his nose.

Dixie scoffs at him, nosing his cheek up to the shape of the bone beneath his skin. “You’re being dramatic. It’s not so bad that we can’t tolerate it. It’s just noticeable.”

“But it shouldn’t  _ be _ noticeable,” Bernie whines.

“I agree. It shouldn’t be noticeable at all and besides, it doesn’t smell as bad to you as it does to us, sweetheart.” Diddy raises his eyebrows at her and Dixie nods thoughtfully. “It’s not like we don’t want Jesse around but man the way he smells really throws us off.”

“Doesn’t bother me as much as you, I don’t think,” Ice says.

Bernie pulls his headband off, wadding it up and pitching it across the room. It isn’t fast and wouldn’t hurt, but Sarah catches it just the same. “Because Jesse is your  _ mate _ so of course you’re probably better suited to handle it. He’s not ours, though.”

“I’ve noticed it, for what it’s worth.” Pearl taps the side of his nose. “And you know I’m almost nose blind compared to you guys, so you oughta be able to trust on that one.”

“How about you, 9? Can you smell it, too?” Ice asks.

9 nods slowly. “Yeah. Kind of hard not to. Why do you think I brought it up in the first place?”

“We can discuss this sometime this evening,” Sarah says softly, ending the conversation; the others all look to her, waiting for her final word on the matter. “I’m glad you brought it to my attention. Keeping track of the pack and of Ryu means my attention isn’t always properly divided as it should be. I’d noticed Jesse’s behavior, but not quite the change in his scent.”

Diddy tilts his head back against the chair, pulls his lower lip between his teeth. “Well…”

“What is it?” Sarah asks, not missing the way he averts his eyes, nervous to talk to her.

Dixie takes his hand, though, so Diddy clears his throat and looks at her once more. “You and Jesse aren’t around each other much. I know it’s because this is our home and you’ve got alpha shit to do while he’s usually just here to hang out and visit since he’s not allowed to do the alpha shit. Like yesterday you were making sure our night was free to run. So you don’t smell him in real time as much as the rest of us do.”

“That’s an important distinction to make. Thank you, Diddy.” Sarah smiles at him and Diddy grins at her before cuddling up to Dixie.

Ice tugs at the bottom of her shirt and Sarah shifts her attention down to him again. “For what it’s worth, Jesse’s a good guy. He wouldn’t run a pack shitty, so if you’re worried about his boys meeting the rest of us, you shouldn’t be. He’s good, so they gotta be good. I know they are.”

“I can smell their omega on Pho when he comes by,” Bernie adds, “and he smells super sweet. Sugary tooth-rotting sweet. So they’re taking good care of him.”

The fact her people are willing to vouch for Jesse is soothing; Sarah wants to know what all of them think, if they want Jesse around but also if they would be satisfied having Jesse’s pack around as well. They knew Jesse once, and they cared about him enough to let him lead them, but that doesn’t mean they would be satisfied to be around a pack cobbled together of people they don’t know and that they might not get along with.

All considerations are important, and Sarah only wants to make the best decision for her pack.

Ice rolls onto his side so he can press his face against her stomach, looping an arm around her waist. “Hope Ryu doesn’t pick up on all this tension. They’ve gone through so much shit.”

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’m not going to let anything ruin Ryu’s time here.” It isn’t lost on Sarah that if their time here is too stressful, they might choose not to come back.

Sarah’s nose alerts her to someone approaching their rooms and she runs her hand down Ice’s back, her nose twitching as she picks out the familiar scent she associates with the main subject of this conversation. He fumbles with the lock for just a moment and she smiles, stupidly fond, before Jesse steps into their living space and Bernie projects himself across the room so he can pounce on the alpha. He came alone; Pho must be staying with Prison Gang for the night, which makes Sarah ponder over their third alpha and his place in their pack.

“Hey, bro,” Ice calls out, turning his head away from Sarah for only a moment before burrowing back into her, tightening his grip just a little.

“Hey.” Jesse gives Bernie the attention he wants before sending him back to Pearl and he takes a moment to walk around the room, properly greeting everyone before he finds himself standing in front of Sarah. “Alpha. I didn’t get to tell you goodbye this morning.”

Sarah nods once. “I was in bed.” She stretches out a hand and waits.

For all of his prickly attitude and personality, Jesse falls to his knees in one fluid moment and presses his face against her hand, scrubbing his cheek into her skin as he looks up at her. The ritual is simple, a nice way for secondary alphas in packs to greet the pack alpha, a scent offering in a submissive position. Sarah only lets him do this for a moment before she combs her fingers through his hair, eyeing the empty, waiting expanse of his throat.

If she accepts him properly, it means putting her teeth in his skin and leaving a mark behind. She wonders if he’s ready for that considering he was the one marking up her pack.

“Ryu’s coming by this evening.” Sarah takes her hand back and pats the empty seat next to her; Jesse has to lift Ice’s legs to sit down and submit to being Ice’s leg rest, but he does so without complaint, running his hand up the back of Ice’s calf. “They’re probably going to be unhappy.”

Jesse’s lips press together in a thin line and he nods, leaning back against the couch. “Yeah.”

“I took your coat yesterday. It’s at the dry cleaners and will be returned tomorrow morning.” Sarah is pleased when Jesse looks up at her with wide eyes, admiring the pretty rich brown of his irises. With his burnished golden hair, his eyes must look lovely when they bleed gold. “I hope you don’t mind. Cleaning fur any other way is a hassle.”

“I don’t mind. You didn’t have to, though.” Jesse’s voice is low and careful.

Sarah scents the air as subtly as she can, and she notices hints here and there of something less than savory, something edging toward foul; no wonder 9 brought this to her attention. Between the way Jesse quiets his voice for her and the changes in his scent, he must have been worried about what she planned to do about his place here for a long time.

If he’s taking this home to his pack, she can’t imagine they’re very happy about it.

There is distance between their bodies even with Ice lying on top of them and Jesse looks almost lonely. Sarah knows they need to have a proper conversation about this, preferably tonight, but the last thing she wants to do is discuss things right now when Ryu might show up at any moment; they need both of their alphas to be available for them and being in the middle of an intense discussion might tip their scents toward something less than comforting. There are quick fixes, though, band-aids she can slap on just for the moment.

Sarah lifts her arm, giving Jesse a pointed look. “Come here.”

Jesse stares at her for an impossibly long moment before slowly inching closer to her until only a few centimeters are left between their thighs. “Is this okay?”

“It isn’t.” Sarah wraps her arm around his shoulders and pulls him up against her side properly, hooking her ankle around his to keep him in place. If she had her fur coat, she might wrap part of it around him. “This is better. There’s no need to sit so far away.”

When he leans into her and relaxes against her, there’s a sweeter note to his scent and Sarah compounds it by nuzzling into his hair, giving him the same doting attention she would have given Ice or Bernie if they were upset. It might not be a permanent fix by any means but Jesse whines softly and curls into her, and that reassures her they can pull this off for Ryu.

_ The same doting attention she would have given Ice or Bernie _ —

Sarah frowns against Jesse’s hair. Just what the hell does that mean?


	3. Chapter 3

The scent of home should be a comfort but when Ryu Tatsuhito steps out of the back of the plain black car, the door held open politely for them by Kiku Genji, all they feel is how distinctly wrong it feels to be crawling back home in the middle of the night coated in the scents of Kuryu alphas who never seem to leave them alone. This is hardly a new feature of being a member of Kuryu; carrying the position of boss of the Ryu Group does nothing to keep the others away from them, especially not the alphas who are not theirs to control. Alphas who think Ryu is theirs to control, not that Ryu would ever let them. Only two alphas have ever been able to earn their favor, their standards set too lofty and too high for most to reach.

That being said, a sickly feeling in the pit of their stomach attempts to curdle and Ryu shivers, wrapping the black fur of their coat tighter around their shoulders as they stare up at the building in front of them. The Funk Jungle is closed for the night and the back entrance will lead them into the warmth and safety of their pack, to the Mighty Warriors, to  _ home _ . Still, they hesitate, resting a hand against the car, lower lip caught between their teeth. It feels wrong to come home just to leave again, so much distance between them and their own.

Genji must sense their unease; a comforting hand comes to rest on their shoulders and though the beta’s expression remains as stoic as ever, Ryu senses the comfort he aims in their direction. “They’ve been waiting for you for quite a long time. Should you keep them waiting?”

“Do I even have a right to go back?” Ryu laughs humorlessly, fingers gripping their fur all the tighter. “I feel so bad every time I have to leave them again. What’s the point?”

“They’re your pack. Your home. You always sound so sad when you have to come back to Kuryu. Enjoy the time you have with them.” Genji squeezes their shoulder, urging them toward the space waiting for them, the pack they miss with all their heart.

For a moment, Ryu balks. For a moment, their hackles raise and they think about throwing the weight of their own status— pack alpha of the Ryu Group, omega or not— and bringing Genji to his knees with it just to prove a point. No one can tell them what to do. But Genji maintains his direct eye contact and Ryu sighs, ducks their head and nods once. They may not like being told what to do, but Genji has a point and home sounds better than anything else ever could after the stress of trying to handle Kuryu’s failures.

Ryu cares so little for the politics, the arguments, the fighting, the attempt to take down the five packs of S.W.O.R.D. who every day move closer to being one coherent pack. What they want is  _ home, _ waking up between Ice and Sarah in the late afternoons after midnight runs under the moonlight, the comforting scents and sounds of the people who accepted Ryu into their hearts and lives without a second thought when they joined the pack.

Genji urges them out from behind the car door, closing it quietly. “Ryu-san, go inside. They miss you. You always tell me that they are overjoyed to have you home. So go home.”

Ryu frowns at him. “You know better than to tell me what to do.”

“I’m not trying to tell you what to do.” This time, Genji touches their face, callused fingers cupping their cheek, tilting their head up so they have to look him in the eye. “I am one of the only people you trust in all of Kuryu. I know your heart. You want to go home to see them even if you know you have to leave again. They will not hold it against you.”

Against their better judgment, Ryu leans into the comforting touch Genji offers them and anchors themself to it, taking strength from the man who watches their back for them. When they finally step away with a firm nod, turning toward the Funk Jungle, Genji slips into the car and leaves, the vehicle almost soundless on the dark streets. Ryu’s footsteps are less so, echoing in the quiet as they slip through the alley and around to the back of the club, telling themself they have no way to get back to the Kuryu house if they want to back down now.

It has never been in their nature to back down, anyway.

They have a key to the outer door and the door up the long flight of stairs that leads to the apartment the Mighty Warriors call home. As soon as the second door opens, Ryu is struck with a barrage of familiar scents that were barely as strong out in the hall, and it makes their eyes sting at the corners.  _ Home. I’m home. _

“Ryu!” Ice’s excited voice rings in their ears and then Ryu finds themself pounced to the floor with Ice’s warm, familiar weight on top of them. “You’re home!”

Sarah stands over Ice’s shoulder, a disapproving frown on her beautiful face, full lips pressed into a line. “Ice, you shouldn’t do that to them. Ryu, darling, are you okay?”

Answering is difficult and Ryu barely inhales enough oxygen to attempt to before another familiar face appears over Ice’s shoulder, promptly knocking the air from their lungs.  _ Jesse. _ Both of the alphas whose marks Ryu carries are right above them while Ice nuzzles his neck and cheeks, any part of Ryu’s bare skin he can get his face on. The overwhelming affection makes Ryu’s throat tight and their eyes sting, their vision starting to blur over.

“Oh,” Sarah whispers, her voice so soft. “Oh, Ryu, please don’t—”

“Ryu?” Ice sounds uncertain suddenly, sitting back. “Ryu, are you okay?”

Instead of a proper answer all Ryu manages to muster up is a soft sob, one gloved hand coming to cover their eyes, a struggle to hide the evidence of their emotional outburst. This is beyond unnecessary, an overreaction to the presence of the people who love them and Ryu can’t help themself, can’t seem to make it stop. A sob bubbles up their throat and they can’t stop it, can’t halt the desperate whines that follow.  _ Home. Home. _

“Shit,” Ice whispers.

The weight on top of Ryu disappears and then familiar hands pull them up off of the ground, impossibly strong despite how delicate they feel. They waver on their feet and then is promptly swept off of them, their head coming to rest against someone’s shoulder. The floral scent catches their attention immediately and they press their nose against Sarah’s neck, desperate to be close to her, her warmth and protection and strength and safety.

“Did I hurt them?” Ice’s voice is low and urgent. “Sarah, did—”

“No.” Sarah’s voice is softer, almost sad. “Not at all. Give me just a minute with them.”

Ryu moves their hand from their eyes only long enough to bury their entire face against Sarah’s throat, vaguely aware they’re being carried into what would probably be the living room, Sarah sitting down and holding them even closer. The difference in their heights is almost nothing and Ryu has nowhere near a bulky frame but they still feel the need to curl up as small as possible, huddling in Sarah’s arms even as they cling to her.

There are more familiar scents in this room—  _ everyone _ is here from the way it smells— but Ryu focuses on Sarah, on the anchor she provides, the way her hand rubs up and down their back, the way she hums softly in their ear. What felt like too much a moment ago begins to wind down oh so slowly and finally,  _ finally,  _ Ryu lifts their head from her shoulder. They feel pitiful for crying so much in the first place, and in front of everyone at that.

Sarah looks as beautiful up close as she always has, velvet brown eyes and soft lips and gentle concern radiating off of her. “Are you okay?” she asks, her voice so soft, so quiet.

“I missed you.” Ryu whimpers and presses their face against hers, whining softly when Sarah kisses them on the cheek. “I don’t know what happened. I just—”

“You’ve been under so much stress in Kuryu, honey. I know. You’re exhausted from being overwhelmed for so far and now you’re safe so you can just let go.” Sarah tips their chin up so she can press her forehead to theirs, smiling softly when Ryu sniffles at her. “Because you know I’m here to catch you the moment you do, right? You trust me with that.”

“Always,” Ryu echoes. It’s a foregone conclusion. They trust Sarah with their life and heart.

Sarah smiles softly, and then her eyes shift. “Ice, you can come here now. Don’t look so upset, you didn’t do anything wrong. Our Ryu’s just very tired.”

“Jumping on them probably didn’t help.” Ice could take any of the empty cushions but he refuses, pushing his way onto Sarah’s lap as well, kissing Ryu briefly and sweetly. “I’m sorry. I know I should have just let you walk in the door but I got excited.”

Ryu shakes their head, running their hand down the side of Ice’s face. His eyes droop at the gentle touch, pressing his cheek against their fingers. “It’s fine. I always enjoy that.”

“Jesse.” Sarah tilts her head back. “Come and join us. Ryu needs both of us right now.”

The couch dips and then familiar arms ease around Ryu’s waist, soft lips pressing a kiss against the side of their throat. “Hey, Ryu.” Jesse’s voice is soft, husky; it makes Ryu relax in the same way Sarah’s does. “You okay, baby? You’re good now, we all got you.”

Ryu allows their eyes to fall closed, leaning back into Jesse while still touching Ice and Sarah, a full immersion experience that always threatens to undo all of their careful control until nothing is left of them. In more ways than one, Ryu is blessed. They found  _ two _ doting and loving alphas and though Jesse had been gone for so long Ryu’s heart hardened more than it ever had before, Sarah was there. Sarah found them and gave them a reason to let someone in, to be vulnerable with someone they could trust. And now Jesse is back. And Ice, of course, perfect Ice, the other side of Ryu’s coin, the half of their soul that makes them whole.

Not that they don’t love their entire pack, but Ryu knows how rare it is to find true mates in the world and they were lucky enough to find three. No one else can possibly have that luck.

“Are you going to  _ share _ or not?” Bernie demands, prissy as always.

“No,” Jesse says immediately, laughing when Bernie makes an outraged noise at him. “In a  _ minute, _ Bern, let us just enjoy this.”

Bernie grumbles. “But  _ I _ want to cuddle with Ryu, too. This isn’t omega solidarity, Jesse.”

“Cuddle with me for now.” The voice is Pearl’s and Ryu peels their eyelids open long enough to see Pearl slip an arm around Bernie’s waist, nuzzling up against his neck until Bernie giggles and acquiesces, half-crawling into Pearl’s lap to sprawl across him comfortably.

Ryu tilts their head to nose under Jesse’s chin, murmuring against his skin to muffle the noise as much as possible. “Pearl finally told him?”

Jesse shakes his head just slightly. “Nah, babe.”

After another few minutes, Ryu feels relaxed enough to climb out of Sarah’s lap and let the rest of the pack approach them, trading greetings to each member at a time so they remember how special each one of them is to them. Not all packs do it this way; most just turn into a puppy pile before long and while Ryu likes that as much as the next person, they want to make sure that everyone here knows that they miss them, and love them, even when they have to return to Kuryu after each momentary visit. Some things last forever. Pack is one of them.

They still end up back in Sarah’s lap when all is said and done, her arms like a vice around their waist, her nose pressed firmly in the crook of their throat. It’s rare that Sarah shows any signs of weakness or vulnerability, as put together as she is, but this is one of them.

“Ryu-san looks so  _ happy, _ ” Bernie singsongs from his own position sprawled across Pearl’s lap. He seems to entirely miss the adoring expression on Pearl’s face, but what else is new?

In answer, Ryu smiles softly. “I am.”

“Then…” 9 trails off for a moment until all of them turn their attention to him. Only then does he continue speaking. “We were talking about Jesse’s pack before you and Jesse got here. Maybe it’s time to sit down and have that conversation?”

“This again,” Pearl murmurs.

Diddy’s head whips toward Ryu’s direction, his gaze probing. “Are you okay with that?”

“I can talk. Talking isn’t hard.” Ryu rests their hands on top of Sarah’s, so comfortable in her embrace they don’t think there’s anything in the world they couldn’t do right now. “What about Jesse’s pack?”

“Yeah,” Jesse says slowly, carefully. “What about my boys?”

The tone of his voice has Ryu stretching out a hand to take Jesse’s in his own, holding onto it tightly, the most they can do to soothe him right now. Jesse brings Ryu’s hand to his face, lips brushing over their fingers as gently as possible. A rare, soft moment from him.

“We were talking about how we haven’t gotten to meet them yet and like, you know, we haven’t. We’ve met Pho but that doesn’t count.” Bernie sits up just a little, perching in Pearl’s lap. “But they’re your boys and we hardly know anything about them. We haven’t met them. We were just talking about that, things like that anyway. Right, Sarah?”

Sarah sighs softly against Ryu’s skin. “Yes. We agreed to talk about it tonight as long as Ryu is happy. Are you happy, sweetheart? Is there anything we can do for you?”

Ryu turns so they can sit sideways in her lap, head resting on her shoulder. “This is perfect for me, alpha. We can discuss anything that we need to as a pack.”

“What are we discussing, exactly?” Jesse asks, his voice more than strained.

The sharp change in his scent makes Ryu wrinkle their nose, fingers rising to ward the scent away as best they can in this position less than a meter away.

“There it is,” 9 says, and Jesse whips his head around. “Told you, alpha. He’s upset.”

Ice climbs across Ryu and Sarah to sit in Jesse’s lap, pressing his face into the side of Jesse’s neck. “It’s okay. We aren’t talking about anything bad. We were just wanting to talk about meeting your boys for real, like, pack to pack intro. We couldn’t really do that without both of you here and Sarah wanted to wait until Ryu was here and happy and stuff.”

Sarah touches Jesse’s face, fingers tracing down to his jaw. “Your scent changed. You’re stressed the moment we start talking about your pack. What is your concern, Jesse?”

“Do I have to say it?” Jesse laughs, the sound uneven and choppy. “That you aren’t gonna like them. That you don’t wanna meet them at all. It ain’t exactly easy to work out whatever we’ve all got going on, it’s not exactly normal for someone like me to come back and be accepted.”

Ryu hooks their leg with one of Jesse’s, the best they can manage from their current position. “Such a thing would never happen. Besides, stranger things have occurred in the world.”

“I’ve already been thinking about your position in our pack, Jesse. You’re the former alpha. It would be remiss of me not to think about your current place with us.” Sarah’s voice is firm, every word ringing with perfect clarity; Ryu closes their eyes for just a moment to listen to her, hanging on her every word. “You clearly have no desire to leave again. Barring anything happening, I see no reason to make you leave. You make this pack very happy. So does Pho.”

Jesse snorts softly. “Yeah. Pho’s good at making everyone happy, y’know.”

“I know.” There’s a note of fondness in Sarah’s voice. “But so are you. I don’t miss how happy and relaxed everyone is when you’ve been here. You’re a comfort to everyone here. And having someone who makes my pack feel secure and safe is a comfort to  _ me _ as well.”

Ryu opens their eyes to watch Jesse’s expression, the stormy contrast of emotions in his dark eyes, playing across his handsome features. When Jesse was their alpha, all he had to do was watch over all of them and protect them from threats and that is a much simpler task than having to handle pack politics, balancing two packs, the rule of another alpha. Ryu knows this for a fact; they see the difference in the Kuryu pack alphas when they are with their own versus when all of them are forced into a room and forced to cooperate for their goals.

Jesse wets his lips, combing his fingers through Ice’s short hair; Ice nuzzles into his throat, a soft purring sound slipping through is lips. “So, do you wanna meet my pack or not?”

“I think an official introduction is in order,” Sarah agrees, and Ryu doesn’t miss the way Jesse’s shoulders sag in relief, some of the tension winding out of his body. “Your boys are connected to my pack and it would be right, I think, to introduce the two.”

“Integration?” Jesse asks, voice pitched lower, softer, more uncertain.

Sarah hums; the sound vibrates against Ryu’s cheek. “If the introduction goes well, I don’t think it would be too much of a stretch to try something like that. But you’d have to realize that if we were one pack, we couldn’t have two alphas running everything. We’d have to have the one, and I don’t know that you want to fight for that position.”

“I still need to discuss that with mine,” Jesse says. “But it shouldn’t have to be a fight.”

“Cooperation,” Ice says, voice bright. “We can figure it out, right?”

Bernie sits up suddenly, ramrod straight. “Wait, really? We can meet Jesse’s pack for real? I get to meet that cute sugary omega I smell all over Pho’s jacket?”

“That’s Brown,” Jesse says, and there’s no hiding the softness in his voice, the small smile on his lips. “Yeah, you’d get to meet him. You’d  _ love _ him, he’s right up your alley, Bern.”

Sarah’s fingers comb through Jesse’s hair. “Just the one omega, right?”

“Right. Just our princess. There’s Pho, you’ve met him, and there’s another alpha, Akune, but he’s… More preoccupied with protecting Brown than being anything like a leader. Mocai, Nakamon, and Miou are all betas. Nakamon’s a little, like, mean? But it’s the prison thing, it’s not like… Like he’s just mean to be mean, you know?” Jesse stumbles and trips over his words, unusual for him, but Ryu smiles, sitting up to pay better attention.

Sarah sighs softly at him. “No need to be nervous, Jesse. I’ve agreed you should bring them by to meet everyone. We’ll all keep in mind that all of you have gone through quite a lot together in prison, that it’s admittedly going to have changed you. We don’t hold that against you, and I won’t let anyone hold it against your pack, either. I promise you that.”

“Thanks. I just. Yeah.” Jesse laughs, and the sound is nervous, and something about Jesse being adorably nervous makes him all the more attractive and endearing.

“When?” Bernie presses. “When do we get to meet them?”

“Before I go back,” Ryu says firmly.

Sarah hums softly. “True. Tomorrow night, Jesse? You can go to them in the morning if you want and make sure they’re ready to come see us. We’ll provide dinner.”

That settled, Ryu trades one alpha for another, crawling into Jesse’s lap to soak in his attention and affection. They spend the rest of the night going back and forth, happy to be home.


	4. Chapter 4

Getting their pack together to do anything as a group is hardly difficult; their ragtag group has always been excellent at cooperation despite their petty arguments and this does not change even when they have to get their space cleaned up to have guests. Shutting down the Funk Jungle for a night is easy enough because no one would dare question their choices and besides, they want the space to be comfortable to meet Jesse’s pack in. Still, by the time Bernie is certain the place is clean, his hands are sore from the scrubbing, the vacuuming, the dusting, and everything in-between. Sarah wanted their home to looks its best.

When all is finally said and done and all they have to do is wait for Jesse and his pack to arrive, Bernie whines and crawls into Sarah’s lap, giving her his best puppy eyes. “I’m  _ tired. _ ”

Part of the advantage of being one of the cutest omegas in the country— no, the  _ world _ to be fair— is that Sarah drops her phone right away to wrap her arms around Bernie, soothing his hair back out of his face. “Sorry, sweetheart,” she says, her voice lulling him into a comfortable headspace right away. “Let me see your hands. Are they hurting?”

“They’re sore,” Bernie confirms, preening a little under the attention.

“Poor thing.” Sarah kisses his fingers and Bernie mewls softly at the attention, going soft for her right away, for the care and attention she shows to him. “Come here, baby.”

Pearl shoots him a disbelieving look from the kitchen, shaking his head when Bernie only sticks his tongue out at him, settling down comfortably in his alpha’s lap. Dixie is monitoring the kitchen and the cooking, directing the others on what to do while effortlessly handling the stove with no one but Diddy helping her. The others have been relegated to preparation, chopping vegetables, cutting meat, seasoning as needed.

The last time they tried to cook as a group, Bernie set the drapes above the sink on fire and Pearl managed to deal himself a nasty burn, and between 9 and Ice, three plates and two cups ended up shattered on the floor. From that day on, Dixie took over the kitchen with Diddy as her eager assistant, always happy to bask in her attention and help her as needed.

Of course, it’s because she’s secondary to Sarah. Some packs have more than one alpha and a hierarchy usually shows up, but Dixie had taken her place as Sarah’s second without a second thought and proved that she was more than suited for the position. When Sarah isn’t around, she’s just as good to go to for comfort and just as gentle.

Sarah’s fingers run through his hair, nails scraping lightly over the back of his neck and making him shiver. “You looking forward to meeting Jesse’s omega?”

The question has Bernie shifting his attention down to Sarah, almost bouncing in her lap as the words process. Of  _ course _ he is; Jesse’s omega smells so sweet and Bernie can only imagine what he must be like if he captured Jesse’s heart so effortlessly. “He’s not going to be cuter than I already am,” he says firmly just the same, not missing the way Sarah smiles up at him, “but I’m going to be super nice to him anyway. I hope he’s cute. He  _ has _ to be cute.”

“Cuter than me?” Ice calls from the kitchen.

Bernie makes a face. “ _ No one _ is cuter than you except sometimes Ryu-san.”

“I am  _ not _ cute,” Ryu announces, stepping out of the hallway.

Bernie is careful as he climbs off of Sarah’s lap, lodging himself against Ryu’s side, nuzzling into their throat, smiling to himself when Ryu sighs but slips their arms around him just the same. After helping clean up, Ryu excused themself to take a bath, wanting to use the familiar soaps and scents they all keep in the bathroom, a way to shrug off of the lingering scents of Kuryu. Bernie has the most sensitive nose of the pack, so it’s only natural that he should double check to make sure everything is fine for Ryu. Who would ever be better suited?

“You smell so  _ good, _ Ryu-san,” he singsongs, pressing a kiss right over Ryu’s scent gland. He doesn’t miss the way Ryu’s scent intensifies, even if for only a moment. “So sweet.”

When Bernie and Ryu first met one another, Bernie was stunned to find Ryu was an omega, but scents hardly lie and Bernie’s nose was sharp even before he realized  _ how _ sharp it was. Ryu is frosty toward most people, self-contained and stoic with a better poker face than Bernie has ever seen in his life, and he knows some of the hardest motherfuckers in the city and runs with them regularly. The tendency to soften toward affection and contact had been absent then; only extended time spent in Jesse’s presence softened Ryu at all.

It made Bernie curious in more ways than one, but  _ Kuryu _ answers all of his questions.

Ryu sighs, wrapping a hand around the back of Bernie’s neck. “Is that so? I’m glad to know I’ve successfully rid myself of the scents of those awful old men, then.”

“I can’t smell them at all.” He can smell the slight spice of a beta underneath the soap and Ryu’s own scent, but he knows better than to comment on such a thing. Though Ryu gives them few details about Kuryu and what is expected of them there, Bernie knows about the man with the sword who ferries Ryu from the Funk Jungle to the Kuryu house and back again, the only man Ryu trusts. “Are you excited to meet Jesse’s pack? I know I am.”

“Of course you are. It’ll be an interesting experience.” Ryu directs Bernie back toward the couch, taking an empty spot at Sarah’s side, sighing softly when she leans in to nuzzle their throat.

“Imagine another omega even half as cute as me or Ice or you. I don’t know that I could handle that.” Bernie crawls into their lap without asking, always amused that Ryu just settles their arms around his waist and lets him. “And if he’s Jesse’s, he’s more than half as cute.”

“No one’s gonna be as cute as you, Bern,” Pearl calls from the kitchen, yelping when Diddy snatches a knife out of his hand a moment before he risks cutting himself. “Thanks, man.”

Diddy rolls his eyes. “Get out of the kitchen, man. You’re useless.”

Pearl pouts at him but leaves the kitchen and Bernie waits until he’s moved into perfect position before leaping out of Ryu’s lap and over the back of the couch, tackling Pearl to the floor in one fluid motion. Bernie can be clumsy but he lets his wolf instincts lead him and finds Pearl beneath him a moment later, hands thrown up above his head, eyes wide with shock. It isn’t unusual for Bernie to pounce when he’s in a good mood but Pearl never sees him coming, proving himself to be the best target to turn into prey.

“You really are excited to meet the others, huh?” Pearl’s heartbeat is loud enough that Bernie can hear it and it makes him grin, leaning in to nuzzle his face down against Pearl’s. “Hey, hey, now I could get used to you giving me this kind of attention.”

Bernie laughs and kisses the side of his neck. “You’re the worst, you know.”

“I like being the worst, actually.” Pearl rolls them over so that Bernie is pinned beneath him, a triumphant smile on his face. “Got you this time.”

He leans down to steal a kiss but Bernie’s nose tips him off to a myriad of approaching scents and he pushes Pearl up and off of him so he can stand. “They’re here! I can smell them!”

“You’re right.” Sarah stands swiftly and the disorder in the kitchen quiets, everyone stilling, heads all lifting at precisely the same moment to test the air.

“I’m gonna get the door,” Ice announces.

Bernie darts past him to the door instead, laughing as he goes. “Not fast enough, Ice!”

He rips the door open and almost stumbles back and the sheer impact of so many scents at once, all woven together in one delicious mixture that leaves Bernie slightly weak in the knees before realizes Pho is standing right in front of him and decides to make a choice. He bends his knees and  _ leaps, _ throwing his arms around Pho’s neck and pressing his face against Pho’s cheek, a little excited squeak leaving his lips. Pho stumbles but catches him around the middle, one big hand smoothing up Bernie’s back.

“It’s so nice to see you,” Bernie singsongs in his ear, nuzzling against him emphatically.

“Whoa, whoa,” an unfamiliar voice from the group says, though Bernie is too preoccupied to check who. “Who’s this all up on one of my alphas without asking?”

The phrasing makes Bernie perk up and he climbs down from Pho’s arms to let the others in, eyeing each of them in turn, feeling spoiled by how much bare skin is on display, how good everyone smells and looks. Jesse keeps a pretty pack, and Bernie almost swoons when he finds there’s a man even taller than Pho, strong arms and a scowl firmly in place that he wants to see if he can soften into a smile. It’s the omega that his gaze is drawn to the most firmly, floral patterned button-down and gelled hair catching his eye.

_ Gorgeous, _ Bernie thinks, sniffing the air around him, grinning when the omega— Brown, he remembers Jesse calling him— raising an eyebrow at him.  _ So good. _

“I’m Bernie!” He throws himself on top of Brown with less fervor than Pho, rubbing their cheeks together, scent-marking for all he’s worth, unafraid even in the presence of all three of Brown’s alphas. “You really are cute. I didn’t think there’d be an omega as cute as me.”

“I’ve been told that’s a great compliment from you.” Brown slings an arm around Bernie’s waist and tilts his head back, one dark brow raised. “Go for it, darling.”

Bernie doesn’t stop to ask any of the alphas in the room if this is okay like so many would have expected him to do; he shoves his face directly into Brown’s throat and inhales, his knees trembling at just how good Brown smells, how his head feels fuzzy around the edges. Omegas are known for being sweeter smelling, though Bernie has known omegas who break that mold; the most well taken care of omegas always smell the best, a sign that all of their physical, mental, and emotional needs are being met, and Brown smells  _ incredible. _

“Oh man,” Bernie says when he leans back, bracing himself against the couch before tilting his head back. “Me, now. Do me next.”

“Do me,” Ryu echoes from the couch.

“Shut up, Ryu-san.” Bernie strains to kiss the side of their head to soften the words.

Brown gives him no warning before he’s just suddenly there, nose pressed against Bernie’s skin, lips brushing against his throat and leaving him shivering. The pleased noise Brown makes at him only serves to make Bernie want to melt into a puddle on the floor; instead, he wraps a hand around the back of Brown’s neck and urges him closer. Scent marking is a two-way street; both the scenting and being scented feels good, a headrush for sure.

“Told you it was gonna be like that.” There’s laughter in Ice’s voice as he approaches Jesse, pecking him on the lips. “Good to see you got your pack here, though. Everyone’s real anxious to get to meet them for the first time.”

Jesse grins. “You know it. Akune, c’mere and properly greet Sarah. Mighty Warriors is her pack and you know it’s only respectful to give the alpha a proper greeting.”

Bernie expects the tallest member of the group to detach himself and approach Sarah and finds himself surprised when it’s a shorter blond man, adorably scruffy, who drops to his knees in front of her and presses his face into her hands. He’s handsome, though, a little rough around the edges which Bernie always appreciates. Truth be told, Bernie could appreciate anyone given the chance with very few actual types to speak of and a heart big enough to love them all.

Though Pho doesn’t have to greet Sarah in the same way— he’s a member of their pack now per Jesse’s request and Sarah’s acceptance— he still drops to his knees when Akune stands and Sarah smiles softly down at him, fingers combing over the top of his head. It’s a cute scene and Bernie leans over the back of the couch to watch, making a longing noise in the back of his throat because while Bernie loves being taken care of, there’s something about the sight of Pho on his knees that affects him on a very base level.

Brown scoots up against Bernie’s side, butting Bernie’s shoulder with his head. “Don’t ignore me.”

“Sorry, princess,” Bernie quips, laughing when Brown flushes and ducks his head, pink even creeping up the back of his neck. “C’mere, I wouldn’t ever ignore a fellow omega.”

Ryu snorts and Bernie smiles mischievously, then slips an arm quickly underneath both of Ryu’s, hauling them off of the couch despite their protests. Brown helps him—  _ true _ solidarity— and then Bernie promptly tackles Ryu to the floor, inviting Brown to join him. Ryu, used to this, only stares placidly back at him, one dark brow raised to show how unamused they are.

“Sorry, Ryu-san. Didn’t want you to feel left out.” Bernie noses Ryu’s cheek and grins when they sigh up at him. “You wanna let Brown scent you? He smells  _ so _ good, you won’t believe it.”

Sarah makes a noise and Bernie looks up to see her now standing beside the couch, looking down on him. “Bernie, you’re being a bit forward, aren’t you?”

“Sorry, alpha.” Bernie scoots off of Ryu so he can scrub his cheek against her thigh, grinning when she just pats the top of his head.

But Ryu surprises them both, tilting their head back, offering the pale expanse of their throat without so much as a twitch of tension in their body. Brown hesitates for just a moment before leaning down and the strangled sound he makes says it all, draws a laugh out of Bernie and a pleased sound out of Sarah. He imagines it must be an ego stroke to have someone essentially compliment the work you’ve put into taking care of your omega.

“Right, so,” Jesse says, and only then does Brown sit up, looking dazed as he does. “I was going to introduce everyone. So, this is—”

“Hold on.” Ryu sits up and presses their face against Brown’s neck, and Brown makes a pleased sound.

Jesse waits until the two of them are done and Bernie giggles, crawling over to them to curl up with his fellow omegas. It isn’t often that Ryu is excessively cuddly but they let Bernie pull them into his lap, pliant and warm in his arms.

“Okay,” he tries again, and Bernie beams up at him. “You’ve all met Pho. My other alpha is Akune. My omega is Brown, if that wasn’t painfully obvious by Bernie’s overreaction. My betas are in order of height: Nakamon, Mocai, and Miou.”

Sarah’s eyes drift between each of them in turn and then she clears her throat. “My overexcited omega is Bernie, and his lovely companion is Ryu. Ice and Diddy are also omegas, Ice you all know and Diddy is in the kitchen with Dixie. Dixie is my beta and officially my second-in-command. She and Diddy are a couple, and you will let them be as such. My other betas are Pearl and 9.”

“Sup,” Pearl says, too loudly; Akune and Miou look at each other and giggle.

“Nice to meet everyone!” Dixie comes to the entryway of the kitchen, stretching out an arm to block the rest of it; Diddy flashes a grin from the stove, monitoring what she’s left for him to watch. “We’re almost done in here. You can all sit in the living room and get to know each other and then we’ll all eat together. It’s nice to have you all here.”

“It is,” Sarah agrees. “Let’s all sit. If anyone else plans on scent marking, make sure you get proper consent first. Otherwise, our little trio here on the floor has already gotten the ball rolling, so no need to feel shy about anything.”

Everyone migrates slowly into the living room, and though the space would ordinarily seemed cramped to other people, two werewolf packs who don’t seem to mind close contact handle it just fine. Pearl drags himself over to Nakamon, hesitating when Nakamon leans away for just a moment, but then he relaxes and lifts an arm so Pearl can huddle up against his side. Ice is unashamed, crawling right into Pho’s lap and shooting Bernie a look over his shoulder; Bernie, who still has Ryu in his lap, rubs his cheek against Ryu’s shoulder with a smirk.

Out of the corner of his eye, he watches as Sarah and Jesse take the couch together, watches Jesse sit too far away at first before Sarah hauls him back up against her, keeping him tucked up under her arm. They look so good together that Bernie could faint.

“You’ve got such a  _ beautiful _ alpha,” Brown informs him. “She good at everything? She looks it.”

Bernie flashes him a wicked smile. “Guess you’ll just have to find out, huh?”

“So Jess was your alpha and then Sarah stepped in?” The question comes from Akune, who lowers himself down beside Brown, slipping an arm around his shoulders in such a way that Bernie can tell it’s all about touch and not about possession. “Any tension from that?”

“No,” Ryu says, leaning their head back on Bernie’s shoulder, so relaxed Bernie could cry from the sight. He loves seeing Ryu happy and relaxed and comfortable. “We had no alpha and we trusted Ice’s word when he said she would be good for us. It was a long process to get where we are today, and we were all very careful of each other’s feelings.”

Akune flashes a smile, all white teeth, and he’s so  _ handsome _ it hurts. “That’s so good to hear. I’ve heard about alphas pushing their way in but Jesse’s talked so reverently about yours that I couldn’t imagine something like that happened here.”

“Reverent,” Bernie echoes.

“Yes.” Miou appears on Bernie’s free side, leaning against him comfortably. “This okay?”

Bernie nods, bumps their foreheads together companionably. “What does he say about Sarah?”

“That she’s beautiful, that she’s a great alpha, that she takes such great care of you guys, that—” Miou leans in close so he can whisper, his voice almost silent for all of the sensitive ears in the room. “That he’d let her knot him if she really wanted to.”

“Now there’s a thought,” Ryu murmurs.

Bernie squeaks, his face warming at the thought. “If only. Integration would be so good.”

“Well,” Sarah says, her voice startling all of them, “why don’t we talk about just that?”


	5. Chapter 5

"The obvious advantage for all of us to do something like this would be numbers. The S.W.O.R.D. packs excel in numbers more than anything else, and it does help them when it comes to any in-fighting.” Sarah’s fingers soothe through Jesse’s hair while Pearl watches from his vantage point at Nakamon’s side. “Our numbers are much smaller in comparison.”

There are arguments to be made, Pearl thinks, about how important numbers are and how much they need them when it comes to fighting. The Mighty Warriors are some of the best fighters in the area, and when they challenge anyone from S.W.O.R.D. they manage to come out victorious no matter what. The fact Doubt reached out to Jesse’s pack just proves that even an additional seven can change the tide of a fight in a game where the numbers are already on your side. But this is cozy, and he might not mind sharing space so much.

It’s probably pathetic in more ways than one to lean into Nakamon’s side, to feel Nakamon’s arm around his shoulders, and take so much from it. But Mighty Warriors has always been a small pack and Pearl was touch-starved even before Ice and Jesse drew him into the fold, unusual for one of their kind but just the same. Pearl’s parents were distant, and he threw himself into business ventures to make money. Being a mercenary had been one step of that plan and in the end it got him this, so it was well worth it in the end.

But the more he threw himself into work, the less he got out of it on a personal level. Even being part of a pack now leaves parts of him unsatisfied; there’s probably something to be said for a beta who chases after an omega who already has devoted alphas at his beck and call, but Pearl is an old-school romantic at heart and it never fails to ruin him every step of the way.

He must be throwing off some weird vibes; Nakamon’s hand curls around his shoulders and squeezes so hard it makes him jump a little. “You okay, uh…”

“Pearl.” Pearl pats him on the hand. “I’m good, big man. No need to worry about me.”

“Hmm…” The smaller man on Nakamon’s other side— Mocai, Pearl remembers— crawls behind them, then sticks himself firmly to Pearl’s side. Being caught between them like this makes him all the best kinds of jittery. “You smell like you want someone to hold you.”

The comment makes Pearl snort. “I don’t know what I smell like. I’m nose blind.”

“Must be hard.” Nakamon sighs and shifts, Pearl’s only warning before he finds himself hauled into Nakamon’s lap, tucked firmly with his back against Nakamon’s chest, Nakamon’s chin resting on top of his head. “There. Should make you feel a little better.”

Mocai smirks. “Nakamon has a hard exterior, but he’s soft inside.”

“Anyone would do it for him,” Nakamon mutters.

“Pearl.” Sarah’s voice breaks their little moment. “Are you okay, sweetheart?”

In answer, Pearl makes a circle with his thumb and forefinger. “I’m all good, sorry to interrupt. Numbers is good. Numbers for this reason is even better, though. Nice and warm.”

“We are a smaller pack than most,” Ice admits. “Know that most of the S.W.O.R.D packs have smaller inner circles but our general pack is pretty small. Doubling the numbers would mean a lot fewer chances for anyone to feel lonely or left out in the process.”

Brown hums, stretching his arms over his head; Pearl watches the way the motion moves the tattoo spread on his neck and probably over his shoulder based on the size of it. “More alphas to give me attention. And not to make the rest of you sound bad or anything, you know I love you, but it’d be nice to be around other omegas. Solidarity and whatnot.”

“And we smell good,” Bernie singsongs, and Pearl can’t help the smile that twitches at the corner of his lips at the way Bernie smiles. He’s so beautiful when he’s happy.

“You damn sure do.” Brown slips an arm around Ryu’s shoulders, his fingers brushing over Bernie’s arm purposefully in the process. “And I’m big on sharing, all things considered.”

Sarah stretches out a hand, her fingers brushing through Brown’s carefully styled hair, and Pearl doesn’t miss the way he leans back into the touch instinctually. “It wouldn’t be so bad to have more alphas around on a regular basis. Not that I can’t take care of my own, but managing would be easier when I specifically have to leave. One of yours could stay around.”

Jesse makes a content noise where he’s snuggled up against Sarah’s side. “We’d be happy to.”

“Jesse was our alpha first,” Diddy calls out from the kitchen. “It’d be nice to have him around again, and if this is his new pack, then I’m sure they’re good people. I trust Jesse’s judgment, I think most of us would. It’d just be a matter of figuring out hierarchy.”

Pho rubs his hands up and down Ice’s back, Ice almost purring at the touch. “That’s mostly between Jesse and Sarah. I’m not interested and Akune definitely isn’t interested. Truth be told, I don’t care one way or another. Long as we’re all together, that’s all that matters to me.”

“That’s why you’re so dreamy,” Bernie informs him.

“Ryu?” Sarah’s hand drifts to Ryu’s dark hair, and Ryu looks back at her. “You know a thing or two about numbers and pack integration. Why not share your experiences?”

“Kuryu being treated as an integrated pack is a joke. There is little connection between our individual packs beyond a handful of us who have specific bonds with one another. Genji and I are a rare case, and if Kurosaki knew about us he would likely have us separated.” When Ryu turns back around, the way their lips twist into a frown pulls at Pearl’s heartstrings. If Ryu wasn’t surrounded by people, Pearl would be crawling across the floor to him. He still wants to. “The alphas of Kuryu are mostly awful. There’s little protection for the omegas under them. Only Iemura seems to extend any protection at all. His enforcer is an omega and protected fiercely from the others.”

Akune makes a disgusted noise in the back of his throat. “What the fuck? Why not protect their own? If you’ve got nasty alphas in a pack and you don’t eject them, you should at least do the bare minimum and protect people from them. Why wouldn’t they?”

“Jesse’s mating mark has been on my neck for years. Sarah’s has been in place for a long time as well. It hasn’t stopped most of those nasty old men from making remarks in my general direction.” Ryu’s fingers drift to the marks and even Pearl can smell traces of the anger in the room. “Genji and I became friends because he shielded me from the worst of it. He’s not been immune to it, either, even as a beta. He’s too dangerous for them not to notice him.”

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Pearl mutters. “You can’t go back. You can’t go back to that.”

“Ryu,” Ice says softly, “you never told us it was like that. Sarah could’ve pulled rank and—”

Ryu cuts him off, their voice stern. “And we’ll lose our link to Kuryu if I do. My position is more valuable than Genji’s as a Kuryu dragon. You have to understand that it’s important. Who got you out of the Doubt fight in time before you could be caught? That was my doing.”

“Sending you back to that is  _ bullshit, _ though.” Pearl swallows hard when Ryu’s dark eyes shift to them, their gaze unreadable, but he doesn’t look away. “It was one thing when we didn’t know, okay, we couldn’t have done anything and we still didn’t like it. You’re telling me the reason you always came back smelling off and bad is because—”

“Yes. Because I was treated like that while I was there. I am until I leave, usually. But it’s what I choose to do for my pack. I will not back down from that.” Ryu’s gaze darkens, welcoming a challenge.

It’s Sarah who rises to meet it. “We’ll discuss this in private, Ryu. I have no desire to become an alpha who tries to dictate your every movement, to limit you in such a way. But I want to assure myself that you’re making this decision with full understanding of the situation because otherwise I would feel awful letting you go back to a situation like this.”

“Understood, alpha.” Ryu bows their head, then exhales slowly. “My apologies, Pearl. I didn’t mean to snap at you. You’re worried. I understand perfectly.”

Pearl wets his lips, but when he speaks, his voice is hoarse around the edges. “You’re right. I am. You’re our omega. Of course I worry about you.”

“It’s difficult sometimes to remember that you all care about me. It’s very easy to forget such a thing in Kuryu where it feels like care is the last aspect that pack has yet to learn.” Ryu slips from between Bernie and Brown and Pearl’s throat almost closes when Ryu crawls up to him, leaning forward to pull Ryu into his arms. “But it would do good for me to remember so that I always know I can come back to all of you at the end of the day.”

Unable to help himself, Pear presses his face against Ryu’s hair, letting Ryu lean into him and borrow his strength. “I’m sorry for getting upset with you. It’s not your fault. I’m just upset at the situation. I know you gotta do what you gotta do.”

“You’re worried. I understand.” Ryu’s breath is warm against Pearl’s throat and then they nuzzle into him. “I don’t want to worry everyone. I don’t want to deal with it either.”

Jesse clears his throat. “If we need to do this on another night—”

“No.” Sarah is firm. “We do this tonight like we planned. Ryu is fine unless they ask us to stop and they have not. Ryu, do you want us to stop?”

“I don’t. I want a resolution.” Ryu climbs the rest of the way into Pearl’s lap and Nakamon’s arms move to accommodate them as well.

Sarah nods. “Just as I thought. A resolution, then. The S.W.O.R.D. packs have trouble integrating into one another as well, but significantly less than Kuryu obviously. It’s possibly because they have a common goal as well as having known each other over an extended period of time. So though there are issues, it is steadily working.”

“For what it’s worth…” Ice trails off, then clears his throat. “Cobra’s got his shit together, so the others don’t mind following him. They can respect him. He butts in when he’s not wanted but it’s so he can help them. Seems like he sacrifices a lot for them. If it wasn’t for that, they wouldn’t fuck with him. It’s a lot different for us. For one, you and Jesse actually like each other.”

“That’s true,” Jesse muses, but then he immediately pouts up at Sarah; Pearl rolls his eyes. He can’t help it when Jesse is trying to look pitiful. “At least, I like you.”

“I can tolerate you,” Sarah answers; half of the room snickers at that before Sarah leans in, pressing a kiss to Jesse’s nose. “I like you, too, Jesse.”

Mocai speaks up then, even as his hand sneaks up to rest on Pearl’s thigh, squeezing faintly. It doesn’t seem like a come-on, more like he just wants to touch. “We’re interested in being one pack so we don’t have to share Jesse so much. It strains him having to go back and forth. He wants to be in both places at once, and Pho can’t visit you guys as often as Jesse does, and your Bernie was all over him, so obviously he’s missed when he’s not here.”

“That’s true,” Bernie says, sounding a little more somber now; Pearl’s heart aches at the noise and Ryu settles more firmly against his chest, turning to nuzzle his throat once more. Is he that easy to read where Bernie is concerned? “We all adore Pho. We’d like him around more.”

Brown clicks his tongue. “And I’m not going to share more than I do so we’ll have to move in together so we can all have everything equally.”

“It seems there aren’t any mixed opinions to be had. I’m fine with that.” Sarah combs her fingers through Jesse’s hair again and he leans into her more, threatening to just tumble into her lap if he keeps this up. Not that Pearl can blame him; all of them are weak for Sarah and her soft touches. “If your pack is good with this, Jesse, and mine is too, we only need to decide what we’re going to do about each other. Who leads and who follows.”

Jesse snorts. “I’ll follow. It’s not even a question, Sarah. I’ll do anything for you and if that means wearing your mark and calling you my alpha, then so be it. It’s a small price to pay for you.”

Predictably, Sarah rolls her eyes. “You have a very sweet tongue when you want to.”

“So…” Ice draws it out, then smiles sweetly when both alphas look at him. “Marking everyone in one night would be a pain, but you can mark Jesse, right? Since we all decided it.”

“Traditionally speaking, you’d do so on a full moon but we just had ours and I’m not necessarily eager to wait another entire month to do the deed. It seems useless.” Sarah’s fingers slip under Jesse’s chin and Pearl’s breath hitches. He’s not the only one; he can hear the way both packs seem to sit up and take notice, how easily Jesse bares his throat to her. “It’s also usually done privately. Jesse, it’s up to you if you want such a courtesy.”

The flush crawling up Jesse’s throat and cheeks makes Pearl’s face warm and he tries not to moan at the sight. “Actually, yeah, if you don’t mind. Not that it doesn’t feel amazing in here right now, but I just… I want it to be just the two of us. And tonight, yeah, that works for me.”

Sarah stands up immediately and Pearl presses his face against Ryu’s hair. “Then come to my bedroom with me and I’ll mark you properly. The rest of you, feel free to sit down and eat together when the food is ready. No interruptions. We’ll join you when we’re ready.”

“And you’ll mark all of us, right?” The way Brown smirks belies his actual desires.

“Of course.” Sarah pets his cheek fondly, then hauls Jesse off of the couch, half-dragging him through the little groups on the floor and down the hallway. “Be good, boys.”

As soon as the bedroom door clicks shut, Bernie frowns. “Boys. Not Ryu-san or Dixie, though.”

“We always behave, don’t we, Ryu?” Dixie’s voice is syrupy sweet and Ryu hums. “Everyone, the food’s ready, so you can come in and get what you like. Omegas first, obviously. Pearl, sweetie, come here. I want to check you over real quick.”

The comment has Pearl half-wondering if he’s throwing off a weird scent again, but he listens because he knows better, escorting the omegas into the kitchen and then rounding the island to let Dixie check him over properly. Not that he minds the extra affection and attention, but he always wonders in the back of his mind if he might be too much of a burden on all of them, always needing to be checked on and taken care of.

“You good?” Dixie pats his cheek reassuringly and Pearl nods automatically even as he leans against the palm of her hand. “Get some food with them, then, baby. I trust that you can take care of yourself but I always worry when your scent goes a little funny.”

“I can’t tell when it does,” Pearl says, aware of how much of it sounds like an apology.

Dixie shakes her head. “Don’t bother trying to or trying to hide it. I like it better when you’re honest and you wouldn’t be otherwise. No worries, okay? Trust me. I get it.”

Pearl doesn’t know if he can confirm or deny that but he’s never been one to turn down free food so he grabs a plate and joins the others. Bernie hooks a hand in his elbow when he’s finished, balancing his plate carefully on one hand as he maneuvers them into the living room, fingers pressing into his skin. It’s not unpleasant, and it’s all the better when Bernie sinks down next to him on the couch so close together their thighs touch.

“Do I really smell that off?” Pearl asks him.

Bernie shakes his head, popping a piece of chicken into his mouth and chewing thoughtfully before he answers. “No, but if you needed that much cuddling then something must be wrong. So I want to help you and take care of you until you feel better.”

“Isn’t that my job?” Pearl jokes, nudging his thigh against Bernie’s.

“Nope, not in the least. I like it when you take care of me, but otherwise I can handle things myself for the most part. I just like being treated like a princess. Just like Brown.” Bernie frees up a hand to squeeze Pearl’s knee. “But if my prince needs to be taken care of, then I can do that for him. And I’m going to do that for you if you let me. Okay?”

“Okay.” Pearl lets his head fall on Bernie’s shoulder, relishing the contact, the closeness.

Bernie kisses the top of his head. “I’d do it for any of you. It doesn’t matter who.”

Pearl tries not to let the comment wound him.  _ Of course you would, princess. _


	6. Chapter 6

This evening is an inevitability, which is how Sarah has been viewing the entire conversation leading up to it the moment it was brought to her attention Jesse was distressed. Part of her had always known that no matter how well Jesse masked his unease, he was worried about the state of his pack and the relationship he had with Sarah’s pack in turn. Just because Mighty Warriors were Jesse’s pack once, did not mean they would ever be again, and Sarah certainly had no intentions with giving them up without a fight. When Jesse came upstairs to their VIP lounge in the Funk Jungle, Sarah was prepared to tear him to pieces to prove a point.

She had designs on the dance floor in particular, imagining it as the perfect location to have a knock-down drag-out fight if absolutely needed. It would have reinforced her position as the alpha of the Mighty Warriors and would have sent a message to Prison Gang if they thought they had any right to her pack or her territory. It was only upon learning that Jesse was hardly a threat to her or her people that she relaxed enough to welcome him with open arms.

When he began spending more time at the Funk Jungle, struggling to divide his time between his pack and hers, Sarah imagined something like this would happen. She knew this better than most and was relieved when her pack brought it to her attention, having no desire to push the subject on them if they had no desire to mesh with Jesse and his pack. After all, Prison Gang are veritable strangers outside of Pho, and the reality of things going badly tonight had loomed over her shoulders with every word. Even now, she trusts Dixie to keep a handle on things.

Sarah had been brought up in an abusive household and at such a young age could do little to protect herself or her mother. Presenting as an alpha gave her the means to protect herself and those she cared about, but by the time she encountered the Mighty Warriors, she had no desire to open herself up to further pain by getting attached. She stayed around for so long because it seemed wrong to turn down the invitation they so freely offered her and maybe it pricked her alpha sensibilities that they had no pack leader now, their alpha long gone by then.

Of course, her defenses eroded over time mostly due to the influence of Ice, whose persistence in opening her eyes to a world where she could be happy drew her attention to his better qualities, and Ryu, whose quiet personality and intense aura drew her curiosity. She wanted to unravel the mystery that Ryu presented just as much as she wanted to let Ice’s warmth infect every part of her life. By the time the Funk Jungle was purchased and became their new home, she knew she never wanted to leave this pack or its members behind.

The return of Jesse was something she knew she would need to be prepared for, and there he suddenly was without any warning. The alpha who loomed behind him had set her on edge, her hackles raised enough to prove a point when she finally met him, but Pho was more harmless than any of her boys and so Sarah took him in without a second thought. Jesse was different, wild-eyed and free-spirited and working with the kind of people that made Sarah’s jaw twitch and her adrenaline spike. She accepts Ryu’s desire to work from within Kuryu because she loves Ryu, but Jesse playing fast and loose with a secret sponsor made her nervous.

Not that she fears anything. But Sarah wants to keep her pack safe above all else.

She closes the bedroom door behind them, twisting the locks so that the others are doubly reminded they are not welcome in this space right now. Jesse’s hand slips from her grasp and he wanders around the bedroom he’s only been invited in when Ice is the only one using the bed, nights Sarah spends bedded down with Bernie and Pearl or out with Dixie. Ice had all but begged and Sarah finally acquiesced with the promise Jesse would never scent mark her sheets.

He never has. He has manners where she is concerned, at the very least. Even now, he turns to face her, waiting for her nod of approval before he lowers himself down on the edge of the bed, his hands folded neatly in front of him. Without his jacket hanging off of his shoulders, Jesse looks smaller and far more harmless than he is; his eyes are soft as he looks at her, watching her shrug out of the short black jacket she’d worn this evening.

“You know that once we do this, we can always go back, but it’s going to be difficult without some pain on at least one of our sides.” Sarah has seen it before, everyone has. Removing marks is not painless, which is why it’s such a big deal to mark at all.

Jesse nods, a hand coming up to rub at the back of his neck. “Yeah, I know. My pack and I went around in circles about it. About what happened if things went wrong in prison.”

“I just want to make sure you know what we’re getting into. Not that I have intentions on removing my mark as long as you behave and don’t bring trouble into my house.” Sarah leans back against her dresser, arms folded over her chest, waiting for his answer.

“I wouldn’t. I know that… I’m involved in some shady stuff, but I wouldn’t bring it back here.” Jesse lifts his chin, lips twisting in a slight smirk. “I’ll be a good boy while I’m here.”

Sarah scoffs; the image of Jesse being any kind of  _ good _ does not register as a thing that can happen in reality. “You’re going to be defaulting to me as your authority from now on, including where your pack is concerned. We’ll have a learning curve, but once I know your boys as well as I know my own pack, that’s where the learning curve ends. You understand that, yes?”

Again, Jesse nods. “Yeah, I get it. If we’re being serious and honest here, I want you around when Brown goes into heat the next time. You can see exactly what he likes then.”

“I can do that for you and for him.” Sarah takes a slow, deep breath and exhales just as slowly, watching Jesse carefully. “You’re not like most of the alphas I’ve met in my life.”

Jesse’s lips press together in a thin line; there’s a slight sour tang to his scent now, letting Sarah know she’s just poked a sore spot of his. “Is that going to be a problem for you?”

The urge to grow confrontational is so immediate but the distress in Jesse’s scent tells another story; Sarah knows what an angry alpha smells like and knows that a truly angry alpha would set off her fight response especially in her den. This scent makes her want to comfort him, to hold him close, skin to skin, remind him that he’s somewhere safe and he has no reason to be afraid of her or react to her words in such a way. But Sarah stays where she is because she needs answers before she can do anything to help.

“What is it that you want?” she asks, sighing softly when Jesse twitches. “Don’t be afraid of me, Jesse. I’m not someone to fear. I’m someone who wants to give you what you need, but you have to tell me exactly what it is so we don’t have hits and misses.”

Jesse scrubs a hand over his face. “I know, I know,” he says, tipping his head up to look at her, though she can tell the eye contact is painful and difficult for him. “I just, it’s not easy to talk about. I can take care of my pack just fine and I’m like… I’m violent even for an alpha. But when I’m around you, I just want… I don’t know. To let you take care of me.”

The words send a shiver up Sarah’s spine in the best ways, but she holds her stoic facial expression, tipping her chin up just a little. “You want me to take care of you like I do Ice?”

“God, yeah.” Jesse laughs and the distress in his scent spikes. “That’s stupid, right? I’m not an omega, I don’t need that shit. I don’t need to be taken care of. I can take care of myself. But I dunno, I just, when it’s you, it’s different.”

Sarah closes her eyes, allowing the revelation to wash over her before she moves away from the dresser, approaching Jesse slowly and carefully. “Then let me hold you like you want to be held and put my teeth in your throat so everyone will know you belong to me.”

The high-pitched, thin whine that leaves Jesse’s throat makes Sarah’s stomach feel hot and tight and he stares up at her like he can’t quite believe it, wide eyes and parted lips. Up close she can see the flush crawling up his face to his hairline; his skin is warm when she stretches out a hand to touch his cheek, the pads of her fingers brushing over the skin as carefully as possible. Jesse turns his head and noses into her palm, his eyes fluttering shut, his lips brushing over her skin before he kisses her wrist.

“Good boy,” Sarah croons, and Jesse whines softly in answer, pressing his face harder against her palm. “Take off your shirt and lay back on the bed for me.”

“Yes, alpha.” Jesse gives her a cheeky smile but tugs his shirt up over his head, letting it drop from his fingertips to the floor before he turns and crawls up to the pillows.

Like Pearl, Jesse is lean muscle, compact and tightly coiled, muscles shifting beneath the sun-kissed tan of his skin. He’s beautiful and Sarah watches him put on a show for her as she takes her own shirt off, letting it fall on top of his own before she reaches behind her for the clasps of her bra. What she wants is skin to skin contact, Jesse’s body pinned beneath hers, warmed by her, but it’s still amusing when Jesse turns around with a smirk only to promptly look like he’s about to swallow his own tongue.

“Surprised?” Sarah can’t help a smirk as she pulls herself up onto the bed, putting every predatory roll into her body that she can until Jesse’s pupils dilate.

He swallows so hard she can hear it. “A little,” he admits before spreading his legs, offering her a place between them if she wants it.

Sarah takes the offer, her knees shoving Jesse’s denim-covered thighs wider apart as she plants her hands on the pillows beside his head, keeping him pinned beneath her, holding herself away for just a moment. Beneath her, Jesse is flushed and breathing hard already, and as she watches, he tilts his head back, a clear invitation just as much as it is a sign of submission. Between omegas, the invitation is only ever present, but between alphas it’s different, Jesse baring the most vulnerable part of his body to let Sarah know he trusts her.

Her tongue slides over her lips, picking up just a slight flavor of her lipstick, before she leans down to kiss the soft skin offered to her. Jesse jumps beneath her, his body jolting up at the touch of her mouth; Sarah lets herself fall then, pinning him to the mattress, her breasts pressed against his bare chest. The warmth and pressure is good for her and she growls softly against his neck, enjoying the way he whimpers at her, his arms slowly wrapping around her back.

Marking another alpha is a surreal experience, a heady one for sure, Jesse’s scent strong in her nose but not in a way that’s clearly telling her to back off. Carefully, Sarah slides a hand down his side to grip his hip, fingers digging into the skin above the waistband of his jeans while her kisses turn to slow and cautious licks. Jesse’s skin is warm against her mouth and he arches his neck harder up against her mouth, moaning audibly.

“Please, alpha, please.” Jesse’s hands spasm on her back before his fingers dig into her skin, not trying to wound from the feel of it, more like he’s desperate to have her as close as possible.

Sarah sucks a wet spot on his throat and Jesse whines again. “Please what, Jesse?”

“Fuck, you’re really gonna make me say it.” Jesse pants harshly and Sarah runs the tip of her tongue over his Adam’s apple; the sourness of his distress is gone, the only thing left behind his musky natural scent. “Please mark me, Sarah, please, I want it so bad.”

“Are you sure?” Sarah singsongs the words, her voice dropping an octave as she speaks the words against Jesse’s Adam’s apple, feeling it move under her lips.

Jesse’s hips buck up against hers, and she can feel that he’s hard beneath the denim. “I’ve never wanted anything so bad in my life,” he says around a breathless laugh.

“Such a cute boy for me. Ice said you were a sweet talker.” Sarah giggles against his skin, kissing down to where Jesse’s collarbone is visible stretched under the soft expanse of his warm skin. “You smell so good like this, laid out for me. So much better than when you’re upset. I’ll have to keep you happy all the time.”

Jesse’s breath hitches. “Dunno about that,” he says, his voice distant, so far away.

Sarah leans up so she can look at his face, see the tense set of his jaw, the way his eyes are turned away from hers, the flush of shame creeping up his face. “Don’t,” she says, kissing his jawline. “Don’t sell this short before it’s even begun. Trust me as your alpha.”

“It’s not you. God, it could never be you. I see the way the others are with you, the way they just… Melt when you’re around. Ain’t ever seen Ryu so out of their shell before you.” Jesse smiles at her but Sarah is not a fool, and she can taste the self-loathing in those words, can see it written so plainly in Jesse’s soft sad brown eyes. “I just, it’s me. I’m not… Prison changed me, too. I’m not really who I used to be. I don’t want you to think you gotta, like, try to fix me. ‘Cause I don’t think anyone could no matter how hard they tried.”

The words have Sarah’s lips pressing together, her head already shaking before Jesse finishes speaking. “No, Jesse,” she says, her voice clear, the alpha command clear in her tone. It makes Jesse’s head snap up, his eyes widening. “You are not so flawed that you are a burden to me or could ever be. You make my pack happy. Your presence here makes  _ me _ happy, as well.”

Jesse squirms under her eyes, turning his head away once more. “Don’t see how it really could.”

“Because you are a good man, and a good alpha, and everyone here loves you so much. I’ll learn to love you just as much as they do as I get to know you better.” Sarah grips him by the chin, making him look at her. “I already care so much about your happiness.”

“I’m really fucking this up, huh? It was going so good and I just—” Jesse breaks off and sighs, squeezing his eyes shut, but Sarah can see the faint sheen of tears just before he does. “I’m sorry, alpha. I’m really not thinking before I speak tonight. I’ll shut up.”

Sarah kisses him on the cheek. “I don’t want you to. I want you to talk to me so I can help you and comfort you. If that means curling up in my arms and crying, you’re allowed to do that. You can air out every awful thought in your head so I can rip them into pieces by showing you how much we all love you, and how much I want to take care of you. If you’re difficult, then I’ll become a better alpha so I can manage your pain and heartache.”

Jesse snorts. “You’re pretty much perfect, Sarah. Don’t know that you could be better.”

“Then I’m already prepared to take care of you.” Sarah smiles down at him. “Right?”

She watches Jesse’s eyes slowly widen up at her as the realization sets in and then he sighs, his eyes fluttering shut. “Right,” he agrees. “I just gotta trust you to take care of me.”

Sarah nods, leaning down to kiss the corner of his mouth. “And I’ll take good care of you.”

“Y’know, I just, of course it’s gonna work out. I smell Ice when I come over, and Bernie, and Ryu when he’s here, and they’re all… They’re all so  _ happy _ and they smell so good.” Jesse smiles warmly at the memory and Sarah preens, just a little, at his praise of her work. It feels good to be recognized for a job well done. “Even Pearl. He can’t smell himself but he smells like heaven these days and I know it’s because you’re taking care of all of them.”

The words earn Jesse another series of kisses to his jaw. “Exactly,” Sarah purrs, “and you’re going to be under my care, now. You’re going to smell just as sweet as them.”

“I’m an  _ alpha, _ ” Jesse reminds her.

Sarah raises an eyebrow at him, a challenge. “So?”

Before Jesse can come up with a response, Sarah kisses him. His lips are soft and warm and inviting and he softens against her, his hands sliding to grip her arms as he opens his mouth for her. His tongue is slow and languid when Sarah licks into his mouth, not the hungry and frantic energy she would have expected from him. It might be that he’s submitting to her through this act, offering all of himself to her in exchange for everything Sarah will give him.

Their tongues curl around each other in a slow and sensuous dance, Jesse moaning softly into the kiss. He tastes as good as he smells and Sarah can’t resist dragging her teeth over his lower lip when she leans back, a taste of things to come. Naturally, Jesse picks up on it, his pupils blown so wide his eyes are black in the low light of her bedroom.

Traditionally, you mark someone from behind with them curled up beneath you as small and submissive as possible, but Sarah has never been one for such things. She likes the look of Jesse beneath her, his toned arms and chest, the strong muscles of his abdomen, all of this bare skin for her eyes. She wants to map out his entire body with her hands and mouth, commit every inch of him to memory like she has her boys and Ryu.

For now, though, she kisses from his lips to his throat, arched for her mouth. She can still feel him hot and hard, his cock pressed against her mound through his jeans. When she rolls her hips, Jesse groans, his eyes squeezed shut, his entire body arching off of the bed.

Sarah’s been told her scent is spicy and rich and overwhelming, that the fact she ended up fucking her omegas after marking them was far from a coincidence. Even Pearl was quick to offer up his body to her, desperate after she’d bitten her mark into his skin.

She can kill two birds with one stone, her hand sliding under Jesse’s hips, pressing into the small of his back, urging him up against her until he wraps his legs around her waist, grinding against her with a thankful whimper. The thought that Jesse is taking his pleasure this way, at her urging and because of his desire for her, makes her nearly delirious with want. But she has two packs in the living room and kitchen who need them, and so she doesn’t have time to fuck him through the mattress until his legs are boneless.

This will have to do.

Sarah presses her mouth hard against his skin, feeling the way his body jolts again, his hands squeezing her arms as he cants his hand back even farther. There’s so much skin to work with but Sarah picks a spot close to his scent gland, a spot where any curious alpha will see her mark before they can get close enough to do anything about it. It’s also going to be intense for Jesse, a pleasure that might black him out, will certainly bring him to orgasm.

“Here,” Sarah rasps against his skin, her teeth dragging over the spot so Jesse knows exactly what she means. “I want to mark you here.”

Jesse’s breath stutters and he tightens his grip on her waist, rubbing himself against her in tight little controlled circles. “Please,” he moans. “Please, alpha, I want you so bad.”

With practiced ease, Sarah licks his skin until it’s wet and hot under her lips and then bites, just the light press of teeth before they sink into his skin. Jesse wails and bucks up against her frantically, arching into her mouth, pressing his skin into her, and she bites him as hard as she has to, imagining the mark left behind, the shape of her teeth and the dark bruise on his skin.

When he finally comes down from the high, Sarah backs off and then licks the skin soft and easy, soothing the pain and discomfort. Jesse makes soft noises up at her and when she leans back, his eyes are heavily lidded, soft and warm all the way through. He smiles up at her and offers a peace sign with a hand that quivers just slightly; Sarah seizes him by the wrist and kisses his fingers, grinning when he whimpers softly up at her.

He’s  _ perfect _ and he’s all hers, and she’s never going to let anyone take him away from her, prison and the Kuryu dragons be damned.

She stays on top of him for a while longer, licking his neck and nuzzling his skin until Jesse is more himself, more alert. Only then does she lean back. “Want to go get a bite to eat now?”

“Yeah. That was… Wow.” Jesse laughs and touches the mark on his neck carefully, then looks up at her. “How do I look with your teeth in me?”

Sarah smirks down at him. “Irresistible, Jesse.”

She hands him his shirt and foregoes her bra, just pulling her own shirt over her head and leaving her jacket behind. A glance in the mirror reveals she looks just as much a mess as he does, her lipstick smudged and her hair wild, but she doesn’t mind. She doesn’t think either of their packs are going to mind, either.

When Jesse stands, Sarah holds out an arm for him, pleased when he tucks himself up against her side, small and sweet. He stays there as Sarah unlocks the bedroom door and closes it behind them, leading him back to their packs— their  _ pack _ — and the promise of food and lots of camaraderie and cuddling. The last time Sarah had felt so satisfied and settled, it had been when she finally finished marking up the Mighty Warriors, Ryu her final conquest. Now, she feels just as at peace, a good sign for the future as far as she is concerned.

She kisses the top of Jesse’s head as she leads him into the kitchen and toward the promising smell of food. Everything, she’s certain, is going to work out for them.

It it doesn’t, she’ll make it work.


	7. Chapter 7

Brown grew up in a family of omegas, his older siblings already presented before he ever came along. It was a good way to grow up, surrounded by love and warmth and affection, learning to value himself in a way society would never be able to teach him. It allowed him to keep awful men at a distance, to only allow alphas who were truly worthy of him to get close. That none of them stayed was never a big deal; Brown bounced happily from person to person without much of a thought about settling down.

Naturally, things change. Families and packs fall apart. Hard times can ruin the best of things; Brown walked with a knife hidden in his back pocket from the age of sixteen until he was arrested and dragged to prison on assault charges. No one cared that the alpha he’d nearly gutted  _ deserved _ what he got, but Brown is less bitter about it now. By the time he found himself behind bars, much of his younger self had been scrubbed away out of a need not only to survive but to thrive in a world that might have ripped him apart from the inside out otherwise.

When he meets Jesse, things change. Brown doesn’t even  _ like _ Jesse to begin with, a cocksure alpha with an attitude that rubs Brown in all the wrong ways. Only when they ended up back to back in a fight did Brown learn to appreciate him at all; he kept a respectful distance unless they were shoved together and he never tried to fight  _ for _ Brown, only took out a beta who came sideways at him out of his blind spot where he never would have seen him coming.

Jesse liked him as he was, appreciated his hard edges and coaxed the boisterous and playful side of him— stamped down by years of careful effort and work on his part— back out into the open. When Brown was vulnerable, it was with someone he trusted to take care of the fragile part of him, the softer side of him fostered by the love of a family he can barely remember on the best of days. Jesse took care of him, viciously guarded their shared cell when Brown was in heat, and assisted him only when Brown asked. His pride never translated into the same toxic behavior Brown would have expected out of someone who carried themself like Jesse.

Piece by piece, their family fell together. Pho was the last person to complete the picture, and a pack of seven might have seemed intimate and small but it works for them. Brown loves his boys more than anything in the world, loves that he’s under all of their skin, loves that they treat him like a spoiled princess because he’s the  _ only _ omega, and there’s a lot to be said for an omega who can keep three alphas alongside three betas happy and satisfied. But Brown missed having more omegas around.

He doesn’t have to feel so lonely in that aspect anymore.

The mark on Jesse’s neck sets perfectly and their pack is given permission to visit the Funk Jungle as they want, considered fully integrated now that Jesse and Sarah have come to an understanding. So when Brown wakes up just past noon a week later, he finds himself snuggled down between Bernie and Ryu, his arms wrapped tight around Ryu’s waist, hugging Ryu’s slender back to his chest. Bernie is spooned up behind him as tight as he can get, making the occasional adorable snuffling noise against the back of Brown’s neck.

This, as far as Brown is concerned, is heaven. They aren’t even the only omegas here; Diddy might be mated off to Dixie but doesn’t mind Brown crowding into his personal space from time to time, and Ice is just as affectionate as Bernie. There’s just something so good, so natural, about being tangled up into a warm pile with other omegas, the sweet melody of their scents the most relaxing combination in the entire world.

It might be too early to say this, but Brown has perhaps never been so quickly in love before.

“You’re awake.” Ryu’s voice is soft and quiet, not disturbing the warm lull in the room at all; their hands come to rest lightly on top of Brown’s, linked together over their stomach.

“Yeah. Bern’s still asleep, though.” Brown presses his nose into Ryu’s hair, unable to help a greedy little inhale. Out of all of Sarah’s omegas, Ryu has the most interesting scent; Brown would roll around in it happily until he was exhausted. “You sleep okay, pretty dragon?”

Ryu makes a pleased noise in the back of their throat and rolls over, stretching out on their back, pale skin and the black ink of their tattoo on full display. When Brown first saw the tattoo, he wanted to touch; the dragon winds around their body beautifully, a graceful and sure design that suits them. The nickname would have been a thing whether this tattoo existed or not, a play on their name impossible to resist when it was so easy.

Brown makes a soft sound of wonder, then tucks his arm around Ryu’s waist. “Good, then?”

“Yes. As long as I have pack with me, I’m fine.” Ryu tilts their head to nuzzle against the front of Brown’s throat, a soft exhale tickling his skin.

He doesn’t miss that Ryu called  _ him _ pack, pulling them closer and kissing the top of their head.

“Mmph.” Bernie shifts behind him and Brown glances over his shoulder, amused when Bernie slowly blinks open his eyes before offering Brown a sleepy smile. “G’morning. I’m awake.”

In answer, Brown rolls fully over onto his back, making sure to slide an arm around Ryu to keep them cuddled up close, easing the other arm around Bernie’s shoulders to let him know he can get in on it, too. Of course he does, hooking a leg around one of Brown’s as he leans in to peck Brown on the cheek. He’s the most open with affection Brown has ever met.

He could really get used to living in a place like this.

They stay in bed for another half an hour until the scent of lunch reaches their noses, prompting a whine from Bernie before he pushes himself up to get dressed. Wearing clothes to bed for their kind isn’t usual, more comfortable skin to skin than anything else. Brown loves getting an eyeful; Bernie is  _ cut _ , something he didn’t expect, all rock-hard abs and the sure graceful muscles of a dancer. Brown can appreciate that because he’d been in dancing classes as a kid, still has a bit of a passion for it. It’s sure something that can cheer him up.

Ryu, in contrast, is slender, all lean muscle and mostly through their arms, strong forearms and wrists from wielding that sword of theirs. What muscles they  _ do _ have through their torso shift beneath the tattoo before they pull on a jumper, the dragon looking like it’s dancing. They’re so beautiful Brown could cry if he stares at them in their perfection for too long.

The kitchen has a handful of their pack in it, Diddy and Dixie manning the stove once more, Brown’s favorite grumpy betas talking quietly across the table while Pearl doles out drinks from the refrigerator. Truth be told, Brown was a little worried about him during their initial meeting, his scent going sideways so much it made Brown wonder how sensitive he was, how easy it might be to bruise his feelings. But he’s fine this morning, bright and vibrant; he smells like sunlight on long grass and a warm breeze on a cool spring day.

“Pearl!” Bernie bounces across the kitchen to hug him, giving him a wet sloppy kiss on the cheek that has Pearl laughing, his eyes crinkling. “Morning, baby, how are you?”

“Afternoon, brat, you stayed in bed until almost one. No worries though, Ice and Sarah and Jesse are still in bed.” Pearl waggles his eyebrows and Brown snickers at him.

Dixie hands Ryu a mug of tea and sets them at the table, so Brown drapes himself across Mocai’s lap, looping an arm around Mocai’s neck to hold himself up. “How was last night?”

“Good. He’s very, ah, affectionate.” Mocai’s eyes cut toward the refrigerator, Pearl nuzzling into Bernie’s throat to make him giggle. “It’s sweet, if a bit sudden.”

Brown sticks his tongue out at Mocai. “Weren’t y’all the ones all sweet on him when we sat down to talk? He’s so cute, though, I’m surprised he’s not an omega. I thought he was.”

Nakamon rolls his shoulders. “He acts like one. He almost smells like one. Maybe we’re just missing something, I don’t know. He’s a very cuddly sleep partner as well.”

“S’what you like, isn’t it, big man?” Brown leans over to poke him in the cheek, grinning when Nakamon scowls at him. “Gonna have to get used to it. Bernie’s the cuddliest fucker in the world and Ryu ain’t much different.”

Prison Gang are far from lacking in affection; Brown has never felt so spoiled in his entire life as he is with them, getting as many cuddles and kisses as he wants, never feeling less than loved. But his boys have had hard lives, and getting them to this point was a long process full of conversations about boundaries, what each other could and could not handle out of the gate, and finding out that keeping their pack cohesive, happy, and settled was more difficult than any of them expected. It’s worth it, of course, but just the same.

Pearl’s scent goes sideways again and Brown glances up at him, wondering how much of the conversation he’d picked up. “Sorry, was I sleeping too close last night? I’ll work on that.”

“You’re fine,” Mocai says quickly, shaking his head. “You’re  _ lovely, _ we’re just still working things out for ourselves. It’s a sudden change for us, that’s all.”

“My boys here,” Brown says, leaning over so he can cup the back of Nakamon’s neck, thumbing over the soft skin there, “are big cuddly teddy bears despite how mean they look. It just takes some time for us to all settle in. Ain’t been an easy life. Most of us weren’t pack before we met each other. Jesse was the only one who had something to come back to.”

Pearl’s face softens and Brown relaxes. “Oh, okay, I get it. If any of us ever, like… Infringe on your personal space, just let us know. We’ve been together so long, it’s not a concern we actually have when it comes to each other.”

“Which is why Ryu-san let me drag them over the couch,” Bernie quips with a smile.

Ryu scowls at him over their shoulder. “Don’t make a habit out of that.”

“Come here.” Nakamon’s low voice startles Brown, leaning around Mocai so he can look at him. It’s hard to get a feel for him, though; he stares directly at Pearl with a determination that would have scared lesser men who had no idea his rough exterior was a barrier between a cruel world and the soft and gentle warmth of his heart.

Pearl rounds the table and the minute he’s within reach, Nakamon’s hand snakes out, catches him by the arm, and hauls him up into Nakamon’s lap. It’s a sudden but fluid motion so that Pearl only squeaks a little, color blooming in his cheeks when Nakamon wraps him up in his arms, chin coming to rest on top of his head. In the short time Brown has known Pearl, he’s been nothing but bright and lively and vibrant, so seeing him look small tucked into Nakamon’s chest makes Brown’s throat feel a bit funny.

“We like you just the way you are,” Nakamon says, and Brown can see the furious color in his own cheeks, fighting through his own shyness to reassure Pearl. “So don’t worry about that.”

Dixie points her spatula at them. “You two, keep it PG at the table. We had to institute a rule about no kitchen sex because of Sarah and Ryu and it still stands.”

“ _ Ryu? _ ” Bernie spits, hardly able to believe it.

Ryu heaves a sigh and scrubs a hand over their face; to their credit, they remain otherwise composed because Brown would have been  _ dying _ over being exposed like this. “No one else was supposed to have been in the apartment at the time. We misjudged.”

“Brown, darling, let me tell you this right now.” Dixie hands the spatula to Diddy and leans over the table, perfectly manicured hands planted on its surface. “Sarah is the  _ perfect _ alpha but don’t let her cool and distant personality fool you. She’s  _ insatiable _ and—”

“And she can hear what you’re saying,” Sarah finishes, appearing in the kitchen doorway.

Unable to help himself, Brown makes a noise of interest and twists around to look at her. Hair tousled from sleep, eyes still softly lidded, in a crop top that ends well above her toned stomach and a pair of loose shorts, Sarah is a vision. Not that she isn’t always, that is, but seeing her still soft from a long night bedded down between Ice and Jesse feels special and Brown has never missed the chance to appreciate a gorgeous alpha nearby.

Ice is already dressed, jeans with rips through the legs and a sleeveless shirt with those arms on display, black ink on brown skin. Brown can’t help but drool just a little and Ice catches him, tipping him a wink before rounding the table to steal a drink of Ryu’s tea and a kiss.

“I don’t  _ want _ to be awake,” Jesse mutters as he files into the kitchen, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. He’s in one of Pho’s shirts long enough to fall down to his knees and, Brown imagines, a pair of his favorite leopard print underwear underneath.

“You need to eat, darling.” Sarah pulls him up against her side, pressing her lips against his throat until he whines and goes soft for her. “Cute boy.”

Mocai makes an interested noise. “Now that’s new.”

“That’s what he’s always wanted, I think,” Brown admits, raising his eyebrows when Mocai cocks his head at him. “What? Jesse’s always been kinda on the soft side but it’s not like he could  _ do _ anything about it when he was watching out for us. Akune and Pho, y’know, I love ‘em, but it’s not like they  _ want _ to have to fight like they do. Jesse just did what he had to.”

“You love your alpha,” Sarah says, and her smile is slow and sweet.

Brown beams at her. “I do. Jesse’s the best damn thing to ever happen to us.”

It takes a few minutes to orient everyone around the table for lunch; they have fewer chairs than they do people, so Brown stays in Mocai’s lap and Pearl remains in Nakamon’s. Ice ends up with Ryu set on his lap and they make it work, sharing a meal and a few stories around the table. It makes Brown think of home, of sharing all their meals together, the closeness and intimacy of it. If they can have it together, then it’s even better to him.

“We’ve got a track to work on today, don’t forget,” Bernie tells Pearl across the table. “If you’re really gonna have a solo debut, then we have to get everything down for it.”

Brown perks up. “You gonna debut solo, Pearl? For real?”

“Ah, yeah, I’ve been thinking about it for a while, now.” Pearl rubs the back of his neck slowly and Brown can see the flex of muscle in Nakamon’s forearms as he tightens his grip on Pearl’s waist, cuddling in a bit closer against his back. “I love teaming up with Ice and 9 but—”

Ice throws up a hand. “Baby, don’t  _ worry _ about it. You wanna do your own thing, you do your own thing and we’ll all be here to support you. You know that.”

“What are everyone’s plans for the day?” Sarah asks, propping her elbows up on the table.

“I’m taking Ryu out until tonight since it’s been a while since I last saw them,” Ice says, squeezing Ryu around the middle, nuzzling against their shoulder. “I’ll text you periodically to let you know we’re good.”

Mocai clears his throat. “Nakamon and I need to touch base with Akune and Miou. Pho’s going to see his kids today too and we promised to come along. He wants us there with him every so often so that the kids are like, aware of who his pack are when he’s not able to come so they don’t have to worry about strangers.”

Sarah’s face softens. “He’s such a good man.”

“Diddy has a shoot today so I’m taking him there and we’re getting dinner after since we’ll be in the city.” Dixie beams and Brown wonders what  _ shoot _ is supposed to mean. “We’ll be back before it’s too late, though, that stuff exhausts him so I want him in bed at a decent time.”

“Yes, Mom,” Diddy singsongs.

Dixie’s eyes glitter when she looks at him. “That’s not far off from what you said last night.”

“I don’t have plans today,” Jesse says. “So if you need anything, Sarah—”

Sarah cards her fingers through his hair and he presses up into her touch like a needy puppy. “I have some errands to run today and you can come with me if you want. I never mind having extra company when the chance arises.”

“You should work on Pearl’s solo tracks with us, Brown,” Bernie says before Brown can say anything. “Dance for us. Be our muse.”

Brown snorts but nods, popping his last piece of chicken into his mouth. “Sounds like a plan,” he says, content here, with his pack and his people. It’s been too long since things felt this good.


End file.
